Privacy Policy
Collaborative Student Transportation
Mobile Application (App) Privacy Policy
Last Updated: January 31, 2025
Collaborative Student Transportation (“CST,” “we” or “us”) respects individuals’ privacy and is committed to protecting personal information.
This Privacy Policy (the “Policy”) explains our practices for handling information we may collect and use about users of our mobile application (or “App”), prospective service recipients, existing service recipients, educational and operational partners, and others with whom we interact in making our App and related services available to users and otherwise providing information about our organization, which also may be shared and/or collected through our website and/or when registering to use the App and/or accessing services or information through our website rather than through the App (collectively, the “Services”). This Policy describes the types of personal information we may receive, how we may use and disclose the information, and certain rights and options individuals may have regarding their information.
By providing us with personal information or using the Services, you expressly consent to the information-handling practices described in this Policy. You also consent to the us of information as described in this Policy by clicking “I Agree” and/or a similar button or prompt in the process of installing the App. If you do not agree with this Policy, please do not use the Services or provide us with your information. If you are a parent, guardian, or are otherwise authorized to take actions on behalf of student-users of the App, you are agreeing to this Policy on behalf of the applicable student, and you represent and warrant that you hold such authority.
Important Information About This Policy
While we always aim to provide complete and transparent information about how we process your personal information, we reserve the right to amend or update this Policy from time to time, or to create additional policies, in order to accurately reflect changed circumstances or new legal requirements. As a result, it is important that you read this Policy closely so that you are fully aware of how and why we are using your personal information.
To assist us in ensuring that we can provide the most accurate information possible, we ask that you check this Policy for updates. All such updates are binding and applicable from the date posted, and your continued use of the App constitutes your agreement to any and all such updates. We also ask that, where we have an ongoing relationship with you and any of the data you have provided becomes no longer accurate, you keep us informed of this so we can amend our records accordingly.
Important Information for Drivers
In some cases, we may be collecting personal information about or from a driver who is employed or engaged by one of our operational partners. Each driver’s employer determines when, how, and why such driver’s personal information is made available to CST. For example, drivers have consented to the collection and processing of their precise geolocation information by virtue and in the course of their employment. If you are a driver and use this App and/or the Services, please contact your employer to learn more about your employer’s data handling practices and your rights with respect to your personal information.
Personal Information We Receive or Collect About You
For the purposes of this Policy, “personal information” is any information that identifies, relates to, or can be used to contact a particular individual.
In some cases, we may be collecting personal information about or from a driver who is employed by one of our operational partners. While this Policy describes how we collect and use drivers’ personal information, we recommend drivers reach out to their employers for further information or to learn more about the contexts in which such information is collected.
Information You Provide
The personal information we collect from you can be categorized as follows:
Contact information – first name, last name, email address (personal or business), mailing address (personal or business), telephone number (personal or business).
Account information – if you have an account with us, user ID, account username, account password, account number, and other information that we may request or that you may provide relating to your account.
Employer information – if you are a driver, or a school or district employee or administrator, or other operational partner employee, your employer’s name, your position, and the details of your relationship with your employer.
Custodian details – if you are a custodian using our Services, the details of your relationship with a particular student, your preferences for notifications or communications, and other profile information collected throughout the course of obtaining access to and using the Services.
Student details – when a student is benefiting from the Services, their name, their relationships to any custodians or schools or districts, their geolocation information and demographic information. Note, however, that our Services are not directed to children for their use. Parents, custodians, drivers, and school staff are the designated users of our websites and mobile applications.
Precise geolocation information – our ride services require the collection and processing of drivers’ and students’ precise geolocation information for the purposes of ensuring students are picked up and arrive at requisite locations, as well as to keep school personnel and custodians up to date as to a student’s travel to and from school. This information is not used by CST to infer characteristics about drivers or students.
Transactional information – details about your transactions with us, including method of payment, payments received, payment details, transaction history, and other information relating to any payments transmitted to us by you or your organization.
Marketing information – details regarding informational and promotional materials you may have requested or received from us, the properties or communities in which you are interested, your receipt of promotional communications, and information on your marketing or communication preferences.
Communication information – copies of communications and inquiries you have submitted to us, including through email, calls, chatbots, and features available on our Services.
Device and usage information – details regarding how and when you use our App and/or website, including the device used to connect to our App or website, your IP address and device identifier, the frequency and duration of your usage, the pages you view, what websites or search terms referred you to our App or website, and information about your interaction with our App or website.
We collect this information when you use, visit or navigate our App, website, or other technology solutions, fill in forms through use of our Services, submit applications or inquiries to us, submit payments to us, communicate with us (including by phone, email, or otherwise), visit or engage with our social media pages, participate in surveys or sponsored activities, or otherwise provide us with personal information.
Please note that we may aggregate or anonymize the foregoing types of information such that they are no longer capable of identifying you, in which case they are no longer considered “personal information.” We may also collect information about you from third-party sources and information about you that is publicly available.
Automatically Collected Usage and Device Information
Like most App and website operators, we use various technologies to automatically collect information about visitors. Those technologies include:
Cookies. Cookies are small text files that a website transfers to a visitor’s browser or device for recordkeeping purposes. We use cookies to personalize visitors’ experiences on our website, provide content that we believe may be of interest, track visitor trends and patterns, engage in marketing and advertising, and otherwise analyze our website traffic. For further information about cookies, including how to refuse cookies, please visit www.allaboutcookies.org. Please note that if cookies are disabled, you may not be able to enjoy certain features of our website.
Log Files and Device Identifiers. We use log files to track actions occurring on the App or website and collect data about visitors, including IP address, browser type, Internet service provider, referring/exit pages, date/time stamps, and device identifiers. This information is used for security purposes and to detect and prevent fraud.
Pixels, tags, and web beacons. Our App or website may also use “pixels,” “tags,” or “web beacons.” When we refer to “pixels,” we are generally referring to all of these types of technologies. These technologies are small pieces of code that run when a page or email is loaded. They are used to monitor the behavior of the visitor or email recipient—such as what icons were clicked or whether links in an email were opened—and gather analytics. For example, when you open our homepage, a pixel may run and generate information based on the visit, and then this information is processed by us and our vendors. Pixels work in conjunction with cookies to let us know what portions of our App or website are of interest to you and to help us provide you with tailored information from our App or website. If you turn off cookies, the pixels, tags, and web beacons we use may still detect certain information about your interaction with our Services and disregard any cookie-prohibitive markers or signals. Note, the vendors that supply us these pixels, tags, web beacons, or similar tracking technologies collect your personal information instantaneously and simultaneous to our collection of your information; in some cases, they may use the information for their own or others’ purposes.
Analytics. Our App and website may also use third-party analytics tools, such as Google Analytics. You can find more information about how data is collected and processed in connection with the Google Analytics service here. You can also read Google’s privacy policy here.
The information collected through these technologies may be combined with personal information or aggregated with other information we technologically or manually collect about or from you. We may disclose information about your use of our App or website to our advertising and analytics partners, who may combine it with other information that you previously provided to them.
Information from Other Sources
We may obtain both personal and non-personal information about you from our vendors including but not limited to driving services, affiliates, business partners, schools and school systems, government entities, contractors, suppliers, and other third parties and add it to other information we have collected. We, and the third parties we engage, may combine information we collect from you over time and with information obtained from other sources. This helps us improve the information’s overall accuracy and completeness, and also helps us better tailor our interactions with you.
D. Social Media
If you interact with us on any social media platform (e.g., Meta, X, LinkedIn), depending on your social media privacy settings, the personal information that you submit on the social media platform may be read, collected, or used by us as described in this Policy. In addition, where we respond to any interaction with you on social media, your account name/handle may be viewable by any and all members or users of our social media accounts. Social media platforms operate independently from us and we are not responsible for the personal information that you choose to submit or link on any social media platform. We encourage you to review the privacy policies and settings of any social media platform with which you interact to help you understand their privacy practices.
How We Use Personal Information
We (or service providers acting on our behalf) use the personal information identified above for one or more of the following purposes:
Negotiating, entering into, and managing our relationship and agreements with you, including making our ride services available to students, schools and districts, and others in the community.
Process requests or inquiries regarding our Services, and to otherwise make information about our Services available to prospective and existing customers and users.
Verifying information you make available in connection with your use of our Services, including our mobile applications, and other information you may disclose in the context of partnering with our organization or signing up to use our Services.
Administering our software solutions, including our custodian and driver mobile applications, and the interfaces through which drivers, custodians, and school staff interact with our Services.
Providing and optimizing your experience on our Services and ensuring that our content is presented to you in the most effective manner.
Communicating with you regarding our Services, our agreements with you, and other issues.
Sending you promotional or informational communications and solicitations, tracking your marketing preferences, and for our internal marketing purposes.
Managing customer service issues, including issues relating to the performance of our Services and client feedback.
Developing, updating, and improving our Services, including our technology solutions, our user experience, and our knowledge and insights regarding potential operational partners and other users of our Services.
Preventing and detecting fraud, financial crime, hacking activities, security breaches, and other unlawful activities in connection with our Services.
Enforcing our agreements with schools, driving partners, custodians, or vendors, complying with our legal or regulatory obligations, and defending or advancing legal claims.
Notifying you about changes to our Services or material changes to this Policy.
Providing you with surveys or otherwise soliciting feedback from you.
Performing other functions as otherwise described to you at the time of collection or to which you otherwise consent.
For more information about your options relating to your personal information and your communication preferences, see “Your Choices About Personal Information” below.
Our Marketing Efforts
We may send you direct marketing communications from time to time including news, updates, offers, and other promotions relating to our services and activities. We will only send marketing messages where the law allows us to do so and, in the event that you no longer wish to receive marketing from us, then you can always unsubscribe using the option provided in the communication you have received (e.g., in the footer of an email) or by contacting us using the information below.
Disclosure of Personal Information
When the information we collect about you is aggregated, anonymized, or otherwise does not identify you, we may use that information for any purpose or disclose it to third parties, to the extent permitted by applicable law.
In addition, we may disclose your personal information to the following types of organizations or persons:
Service providers we use to facilitate our business operations and administer our technology solutions. For example, our service providers include (i) IT and system administration providers, (ii) data storage providers, (iii) vendors to facilitate payments and payment processing, (iv) vendors that verify insurance coverage, employment and other relevant details about you, (v) vendors that ensure our mobile applications are available for use.
Other users of the Services, such as when a custodian or school professional needs to know the location of a student and/or a driver.
Marketing and advertising vendors that may assist with lead generation, hosting information relating to partners and customers, marketing automation, advertisement placement and targeting, and marketing campaigns and communications.
Analytics vendors in order to understand our website and mobile application traffic and usage patterns and optimize our Services. Note, the technologies we use on our App or website to automatically collect information about you and your interaction with our App or website may be supplied by third-party vendors that collect your information instantaneously and simultaneous to our collection of your information. They may also use your information for their own or others’ purposes.
Our affiliated or related entities who may use your information to provide you the details of their services or otherwise market to you.
Regulatory and governmental authorities, law enforcement agencies, and courts, as necessary to comply with applicable laws and regulations, respond to a subpoena, search warrant, or other lawful request for information, or to otherwise protect our rights.
Our professional advisors, such as lawyers, accountants, and other similar advisors.
Buyers or other successors prior to or in the event of a merger, acquisition, divestiture, restructuring, reorganization, dissolution, or other sale or transfer of some or all of our assets, whether as a going concern or as a part of bankruptcy, liquidation, or similar proceeding, where the information is among the assets being transferred.
Other parties for any purpose we disclose at the time you provide the information.
We further reserve the right to refer or disclose your information to law enforcement or regulatory authorities in the event that we believe you, other individuals, our partners or service providers, or anyone else is in danger, at risk of harm, in violation of applicable laws, or representing a safety concern.
Protection of Personal Information
We use appropriate administrative, technical, and physical measures to protect your personal information from loss, theft, and unauthorized use, disclosure, or modification. Please be aware that no data transmission over the Internet is 100% secure. While we strive to protect your personal information, we cannot ensure or warranty the security of any information you transmit to us and you do so at your own risk.
Your Choices About Personal Information
We respect your right to make choices about the ways we collect, use, and disclose your information. We try to offer you meaningful choices regarding your personal information. Some choices you have regarding personal information include the following.
Marketing Emails – As required by applicable laws, you can opt-out of receiving promotional emails from us by clicking the “opt out” link in any such promotional emails and following the instructions provided.
Tracking Technologies – Depending on your browser or device, you may have the option to set the browser to accept all cookies, reject all cookies, notify you when a cookie is set, or delete cookies. Each browser and device are different, so we recommend you evaluate the tools and settings available in your browser or device, as well as any available instructions for the same. Please note that if you disable or delete cookies, you may not be able to access or use certain features of our website. The National Advertising Initiative also makes resources available to assist consumers in opt-out of certain tailored online ads, which you can access here: https://optout.networkadvertising.org/?c=1.
Google Analytics – As discussed above, we use Google Analytics in connection with our Services. If you would like to refrain from having your data collected by Google Analytics, Google has developed an opt-out browser that you can use. You can find more information on how Google uses information it collects here.
Declining to Provide Information – You can choose not to provide us with information we may request through our Services, but that may result in you being unable to use certain features of our Services, request information, or initiate other transactions with us.
Do Not Track Mechanisms – Please note that our Services does not honor “Do Not Track” signals, and such signals will not impact the operation of our App or website.
In addition to the above, you may contact us using the details provided at the end of this Policy with any questions about the choices relating to your personal information.
Links to Third-Party Websites
Our App or website may contain links to third-party websites, including the websites of vendors we use to process information on our behalf. Such websites have separate privacy policies that you should review. We do not control these third-party websites and are not responsible for the content of linked websites or those companies’ data-handling practices.
Children’s Privacy
As noted above, our Services are intended for use by a general audience. While we collect certain student information, our Services are not directed at, or intended for use directly by, children under the age of 13 years. Should we discover that a child under the appropriate age provided his or her personal information through direct use of our Services, we will use that information only to respond to that child and inform them that we must have parental consent before receiving such information.
Changes to this Policy
Please note that we may change this Policy from time to time. If there are changes to our Policy, we will post them here and update the “Last Updated” date at the top of this document. Continued use of our Services after any changes is deemed to be acceptance of those changes. Accordingly, we encourage you to check the Policy periodically for updates.
How to Contact Us
For questions or more information about our privacy practices, please contact us by using the contact information provided below:
Collaborative Student Transportation
615 1st Ave NE, Suite 115, Minneapolis, MN 55413
Email: hello@drivecst.org