The full Terms of Service and Privacy Policy for Carma Technology Corporation (“Carma”, “GoCarma”). Questions: team@gocarma.com.
This Terms and Conditions Agreement (“Agreement”) is a legally binding agreement made between you (“you,” “your”) and Carma Technology Corporation located at 600 Congress Avenue, Floor 14, Austin, Texas as well as any of its worldwide subsidiaries (collectively, “Carma”, “GoCarma”, “we,” “us” or “our”), and You (the “User”). All Users are required to accept and comply with these terms and conditions set forth herein to use Carma's software and / or hardware in accordance with the terms of this Agreement and subject to completing all applicable registration processes and reviews. By accepting the terms and conditions of this Agreement and using Services (as defined below) you accept and agree to comply with the terms and conditions of this Agreement, as it may be amended from time to time as provided herein.
If you have any questions regarding this Agreement, please contact us via email at team@gocarma.com.
Carma reserves the right to change the terms of this Agreement, from time to time, or at any time, with or without notice. Unless we designate a different date for effectiveness, such changes will be effective immediately. You agree that continued use of Services constitutes acceptance of any amended terms and conditions in the Agreement.
Certain provisions of this Agreement and the Rules related to your use of our Services (as defined below) may vary based upon the jurisdiction in which you use Carma's technology.
In this Agreement, the following definitions apply:
This Agreement is a high-occupancy transportation reporting agreement offered by Carma.
Carma is the owner of any item it provides to the User or places at the User's disposal during the term of this Agreement, including specifically and without limitation, all Products. The User's use of, and rights in relation to, any such Products provided by Carma under this Agreement are limited to those rights of use stated in this Agreement.
The User acknowledges that the use of the Service does not require any human interaction with the Apps or Hardware at any time while driving a vehicle. You are solely responsible for driving safely, and selecting the individuals and/or entities with whom you travel.
We cannot and do not assess the suitability of Users. We have little or no control over the truth or accuracy of the data Users may provide, the ability of Users to drive legally and safely, the condition of their vehicles, their criminal background etc. We do not verify that a User has met all the eligibility requirements for the Service or that any other part of a User's profile information is true and accurate, or even that a User is who they claim to be. Background or other checks are not performed.
You acknowledge and agree that under no circumstances will Carma have any responsibility, liability or obligation with respect to any of the trips that you may take as a result of using the Services.
By registering for the GoCarma Service and using Carma's Apps, you certify that:
If you register an Occupant Pass for another person to have their occupancy automatically declared in a vehicle, you certify that:
A valid email address and email account is required for using the Service. It is your responsibility to maintain the validity of the email address and email account that you provide to Us. Should your email address change, you agree to update your email address in the Service.
A valid phone number is also required for using the Service. It is your responsibility to maintain the validity of this phone number. Should your phone number change, please update your phone details in the Service.
Users must either 1) download the GoCarma Smartphone App to use the Service and carry their smartphone with them during Trips in order for the Trips to be registered with the Service; or 2) carry on your person an Occupant Pass that has been registered to your User account. At least one occupant in the vehicle must use the Smartphone App. Users of the Smartphone App may be required to grant permission to smartphone services such as Bluetooth, location services, push notifications, motion detection and any other services required to record and verify vehicle occupancy and location during a trip.
For using smartphone applications to access the Service, a mobile device with services from a service provider supported by the Software and a plan which allows you access to Carma's mobile phone application and SMS capabilities is required. You are responsible for paying all fees that your service provider may charge you for using the Service through your mobile/cell phone. Should your mobile/cell number or service provider change, please update your mobile/cell phone information in the Service.
For using an Occupant Pass to access the Service, the User is responsible for carrying the Occupant Pass on their person when they enter and exit the vehicle. Any faults with the Occupant Pass should be reported immediately to Carma for replacement.
For using GoCarma Pass, the User is responsible for ensuring the correct placement of the GoCarma Pass in the glove box of the vehicle to which it is registered. If the GoCarma Pass is not present in the vehicle it will not be possible for the occupancy of the vehicle to be detected and reported.
Usage of the Service enables your occupancy in a vehicle to automatically be detected and reported to the GoCarma server. Carma shares your occupancy information with trusted partner organizations, such as a toll agency and their technical partners, only for the purposes of determining your eligibility for a reward, such as a toll discount and/or rebate. Carma is not responsible for providing any such reward, or for the timing at which such a reward may be applied. Carma is only responsible for automatically declaring your vehicle occupancy to trusted partners. For example, Carma may automatically detect and report on vehicle occupancy in real time to a toll agency and that toll agency may apply a toll discount retrospectively at the end of the month. Carma does not determine the timing of such a high-occupancy reward.
We, or a third party, may provide certain promotions to Users from time to time. We may, at our sole discretion, make promotional offers with different features to any of our Users. Promotional rewards received by the User are also automatically forfeited after 3 months of inactivity.
You agree not to engage in any of the following prohibited activities: (i) copying, distributing, or disclosing any part of the Service in any medium, including without limitation by any automated or non-automated “scraping”; (ii) using any automated system, including without limitation “robots”, “spiders”, “offline readers”, etc., to access the Service in a manner that sends more request messages to the GoCarma servers than a human can reasonably produce in the same period of time by using a conventional on-line web browser except that Carma grants the operators of public search engines revocable permission to use spiders to copy materials from gocarma.com for the sole purpose of, and solely to the extent necessary for, creating publicly available searchable indices of the materials, but not caches or archives of such materials; (iii) transmitting spam, or other unsolicited email; (iv) attempting to interfere with, compromise the system integrity or security or decipher any transmissions to or from the servers running the Service; (v) taking any action that imposes, or may impose at our sole discretion an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on our infrastructure; (vi) uploading invalid data, viruses, worms, or other software agents through the Service; (vii) collecting or harvesting any personally identifiable information, including account names, from the Service; (viii) using the Service for any commercial solicitation purposes; (ix) impersonating another person or otherwise misrepresenting your affiliation with a person or entity, conducting fraud, hiding or attempting to hide your identity; (x) interfering with the proper working of the Service; (xi) accessing any content on the Service through any technology or means other than those provided or authorized by the Service; (xii) creating and/or using multiple user accounts or cellular phones; or (xiii) bypassing the measures we may use to prevent or restrict access to the Service, including without limitation features that prevent or restrict use or copying of any content or enforce limitations on use of the Service or the content therein.
Carma may permanently or temporarily terminate, suspend, or otherwise refuse to permit your access to the Service without notice and liability for any reason, including if in Carma's sole determination you violate any provision of this Agreement, or for no reason. Upon termination for any reason or no reason, you continue to be bound by this Agreement. All aspects of the Service are subject to change or elimination at Carma's sole discretion. Carma reserves the right to interrupt the Service with or without prior notice for any reason or no reason. You agree that Carma will not be liable to you for any interruption of the Service, delay or failure to perform.
You must keep your accounts and passwords confidential and not authorize any third party to access or use the Service on your behalf. You may not transfer your account to any other person or entity. You may acquire information pertaining to others using the Service. You may not disclose personally identifiable information of another user you acquire using the Service to any third party without the consent of such other User after adequate disclosure with the exception of reporting unlawful activity to authorized law enforcement personnel.
Carma does not endorse any Users or Service. You are solely responsible for your interactions with other users. We reserve the right, but have no obligation, to monitor disputes between you and other users. Carma shall have no liability for your interactions with other users, or for any users' action or inaction, with respect to the Service. While we may help facilitate successful transactions and the resolution of disputes, we do not guarantee the quality, safety, truth or accuracy of Service or other services or transactions available via the Service.
By using the Service, you agree that any legal remedy or liability that you seek to obtain for actions or omissions of other Users or other third parties will be limited to a particular User or third party that causes you harm and you agree not to attempt to impose liability on, or seek any legal remedy from Carma with respect to such actions or omissions. If you have a dispute with one or more Users, you release us (our affiliate companies, our officers, directors, agents, subsidiaries, and employees) from claims, demands, and damages (actual and consequential) of every kind and nature, known and unknown, arising out of or in any way connected with such disputes or your use of the Services.
Subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, you are hereby granted a non-exclusive, limited, non-transferable, freely revocable license to use the Service for your personal, non-commercial use only. Carma reserves all rights not expressly granted herein in the Service and the Carma Content (as defined below). Carma may terminate this license at any time for any reason or no reason whatsoever.
To use the Apps you must have a mobile device that is compatible with the Service. Carma does not warrant that the Apps and/or Service will be compatible with your mobile device.
Carma hereby grants you a non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to use a compiled code copy of the Apps for one Carma user account on one mobile device owned or leased solely by you, for your personal use.
You may not: (i) modify, disassemble, decompile or reverse engineer the Carma Software, except to the extent that such restriction is expressly prohibited by law; (ii) rent, lease, loan, resell, sublicense, distribute or otherwise transfer the Carma Software to any third party or use the Carma Software to provide time sharing or similar services for any third party; (iii) make any copies of the Carma Software; (iv) remove, circumvent, disable, damage or otherwise interfere with security-related features of the Carma Software, features that prevent or restrict use or copying of any content accessible through the Carma Software, or features that enforce limitations on use of the Carma Software; or (v) delete the copyright and other proprietary rights notices on the Carma Software.
You acknowledge that Carma may from time to time issue upgraded versions of the Carma Software, and may automatically electronically upgrade the version of the Carma Software that you are using on your mobile device. You consent to such automatic upgrading on your mobile device, and agree that the terms and conditions of this Agreement will apply to all such upgrades.
Any third-party code that may be incorporated in the Carma Software is covered by the applicable open source or third-party license EULA, if any, authorizing use of such code.
The foregoing license grant is not a sale of the Carma Software or any copy thereof, and Carma or its third party partners or suppliers retain all right, title, and interest in the Carma Software (and any copy thereof). Any attempt by you to transfer any of the rights, duties or obligations hereunder, except as expressly provided for in this Agreement, is void. Carma reserves all rights not expressly granted under this Agreement.
If the Carma Software is being acquired on behalf of the United States Government, then the following provision applies. Use, duplication, or disclosure of the Carma Software by the U.S. Government is subject to restrictions set forth in this Agreement and as provided in DFARS 227.7202-1(a) and 227.7202-3(a) (1995), DFARS 252.227-7013(c)(1)(ii) (OCT 1988), FAR 12.212(a) (1995), FAR 52.227-19, or FAR 52.227-14 (ALT III), as applicable.
Export Control. The Software originates in the United States, and is subject to United States export laws and regulations. The Software may not be exported or re-exported to countries, persons or entities prohibited from receiving exports from the United States. In addition, the Software may be subject to the import and export laws of other countries. You agree to comply with all United States and foreign laws related to use of the Software and the Service.
Carma may, in its sole discretion, terminate, change, modify, suspend, make improvements to, or discontinue any aspect of the Carma website and application, Software or any products and services available through or outside of the Carma website and application or Software, temporarily or permanently, including the availability of any features of the Sites or access to any parts of the Sites, at any time without notice to you, and you agree that Carma shall not be liable for any termination of your use of or access to the Sites.
This Privacy Policy (“Privacy Policy”) sets out the Carma policy with regard to the privacy of Users of Software and Hardware. By visiting this site or by using Software or by using Hardware, you are agreeing to the terms of this Privacy Policy. If you are not happy with the terms of this Privacy Policy and do not wish your information to be recorded, you may wish to leave this site.
Please contact team@gocarma.com if you have any questions about this Privacy Policy.
Carma reserves the right to update this Privacy Policy. We will post those changes on this page.
Carma respects the rights of its Users and only collects data required to detect, verify and report on the occupancy of registered vehicles during trips.
Except for the following list, Carma does not collect personal information through its Software or Hardware:
The Smartphone App will collect vehicle and occupancy data only when it detects it is in close proximity to a GoCarma Pass that is activated and likely positioned in a vehicle's glove box. A User can disable this by disabling Bluetooth on their phone, revoking the Smartphone App's permissions to access Bluetooth, logging out of the Smartphone App or deleting the app. The data collected is communicated by the Smartphone App to the GoCarma server by data communications (standard rates apply). If the phone has no access to data communications it will keep the data locally until it is next connected to the internet. The vehicle and occupancy data we collect is the following:
The Smartphone App does not collect vehicle and occupancy data when a User is not detected in a vehicle.
Occasionally, we may conduct surveys to understand better the needs of our Users in order to improve our features. We sometimes share the aggregated information in these surveys with partner organizations on an anonymized basis.
We use your email address to provide information on: completed trips, occupancy records, confirmation of high-occupancy rewards, other communication as required between Carma and its Users.
We may also send you email notifications of specific changes to the Website and/or facilities.
For the purposes of improving our Software, we sometimes analyze aggregated data of how people use our products. To enable this, certain information is recorded, which may include:
This information is used for statistical purposes only — including:
Carma's website and Software use Google Analytics, Google Firebase Analytics and Crashlytics (hereafter, “Analytics Service Providers”) web analytics services provided by Google, Inc. ('Google') and Twitter, Inc. ('Twitter'). Analytics Service Providers use 'cookies', which are text files placed on your computer or other device, to help the website analyze how users use the site. The information included in the cookie about your use of the website (including your IP address) will be transmitted to and stored by these services on servers in the United States. Analytics Service Providers use this information for the purpose of evaluating your use of the website, compiling reports on website activity for website operators and providing other services relating to website activity and internet usage. Analytics Service Providers may also transfer this information to third parties where required to do so by law, or where such third parties process the information on their behalf. Analytics Service Providers will not associate your IP address with any other data held by them. You may refuse the use of cookies by selecting the appropriate settings on your browser, however please note that if you do this you may not be able to use the full functionality of this website. By using this website, you consent to the processing of data about you by Analytics Service Providers in the manner and for the purposes set out above.
Personal information submitted is kept on a server belonging to and administered by Carma or an agent of Carma which provides website hosting services and/or the email alert software. This agent of Carma is compliant with the applicable data protection regulations and has provided written confirmation to Carma that they will comply with the relevant data protection obligations by keeping information secure and not using it for any purpose other than for which it was provided.
For backup purposes, copies of personal information, occupancy records and subscriber lists are stored on secure servers to which agents of Carma have remote access for the purposes of providing website development, maintenance or hosting services.
Carma shares vehicle information, including toll transponder tag IDs and vehicle license plates and verified occupancy count to trusted partner agencies, such as a toll agency and/or its technical partners, to enable the User to be issued with a high-occupancy reward (such as a toll discount) by that trusted partner. This data will only be shared for registered Users who have voluntarily registered for such high-occupancy rewards.
In some instances, Users may contact toll agencies to inquire about a charge on their toll statement. Such toll agencies have access to a limited subset of our User data to help them open a ticket with the GoCarma support team. This data may include:
In some cases Carma uses outsourced customer suppliers and support agencies to collect, use, analyze and otherwise process information on its behalf. It is Carma's practice to require such suppliers to handle information in a manner consistent with Carma's policies.
We may provide information to trusted partners who work on behalf of or with Carma under confidentiality agreements, such as our local call center(s). These companies may use your personal information to help Carma communicate with you about offers from Carma and our marketing partners. However, these companies do not have any independent right to share this information.
We do not sell, trade, or otherwise transfer your personally identifiable information to outside parties. This does not include trusted third parties who assist us in operating our website, conducting our business, or servicing you, so long as those parties agree to keep this information confidential. We may also release your information when we believe release is appropriate to comply with the law, enforce our site policies, or protect ours or others' rights, property, or safety.
Due to the nature of the Internet we cannot guarantee the security of any information whilst it is being transmitted to us via the Internet. However, we take our security responsibilities very seriously and take all reasonable steps (both technical and organizational) to protect your personal details once they have been received by Carma. Staff who have access to personal information gathered from the websites are made aware of Data Protection responsibilities. Names of the Carma staff who have access to this information are available on request.
Certain transactions may also involve you calling us or our calling you. Please be aware that it is Carma's general practice to monitor and, in some cases, record such calls for training or quality assurance purposes.
You may inform us of any changes in your personal data and in accordance with our obligations under the Data Protection Acts 1998 and 2003 we will update or delete your personal data accordingly.
Where the Carma website provides links to third party websites, these links are provided for information purposes only and Carma is not responsible for the content, copyright or privacy policies of these websites. You may wish to review the privacy policies posted on all third party websites.
Carma hardware does not collect any data. It simply communicates its presence using near-field communications to nearby smartphone devices with the Carma Smartphone App installed.
The location of all Users is tracked by GPS via a User's smartphone and conveyed to Carma, but only when a trip is in progress. Location information is tracked by the Carma Smartphone App to help determine eligibility for rewards such as toll discounts at certain toll plaza locations. We will never use this information to make your location or movements public without your permission. Your location will only be shared with trusted partner organizations, such as a toll agency, in the case where it is needed to support a determination of eligibility. Your location data may also be displayed to you in the Smartphone App or Web App for your own trip records. Aggregated records of non-personally identifiable location data may be reviewed by Carma or with trusted organizations such as a toll agency for better understanding travel patterns and behavior on toll roads.
This Privacy Policy applies only to information collected through our website and not to information collected offline.
Residents of the State of California, under the California Civil Code Section 1798.83, have the right to request from companies conducting business in California a list of all third parties to which the Company has disclosed personal information during the preceding year for direct marketing purposes and a disclosure of the shared information. If you are a California resident and request information about how to exercise your third party disclosure choices, send a request to the following email address: team@gocarma.com
The Service and all materials therein or transferred thereby, including, without limitation, software, images, text, graphics, illustrations, logos, patents, trademarks, service marks, copyrights, photographs, audio, videos, music, (the “Carma Content”), and all Intellectual Property Rights related thereto, are the exclusive property of Carma and its licensors. Except as explicitly provided herein, nothing in this Agreement shall be deemed to create a license in or under any such Intellectual Property Rights, and you agree not to sell, license, rent, modify, distribute, copy, reproduce, transmit, publicly display, publicly perform, publish, adapt, edit or create derivative works from any materials or content accessible on the Service. Use of the Carma Content or materials on the Service for any purpose not expressly permitted by this Agreement is strictly prohibited.
You may choose to, or we may invite you to, submit comments or ideas about the Service, including without limitation about how to improve the Service or our Products (“Ideas”). By submitting any Idea, you agree that your disclosure is gratuitous, unsolicited and without restriction and will not place Carma under any fiduciary or other obligation, and that we are free to use the Idea without any additional compensation to you, and/or to disclose the Idea on a non-confidential basis or otherwise to anyone. You further acknowledge that, by acceptance of your submission, Carma does not waive any rights to use similar or related ideas previously known to Carma, or developed by its employees, or obtained from sources other than you.
We care about the privacy of our Users. Our Privacy Policy above outlines how we use and safeguard your information. You understand that by using the Service, you are consenting to our Privacy Policy that includes but is not limited to (i) the collection, use and disclosure of your personally identifiable information and aggregate data; and, (ii) to have your personally identifiable information collected, used, transferred to and processed in the United States.
We have implemented commercially reasonable technical and organizational measures designed to secure your personal information from accidental loss and from unauthorized access, use, alteration or disclosure. However, we cannot guarantee that unauthorized third parties will never be able to defeat those measures or use your personal information for improper purposes. You acknowledge that you provide your personal information at your own risk.
We may provide links to other websites that may be of interest to you. Carma does not monitor or investigate such websites and is not responsible for the content, functionality or practices of such websites. Once you link to a third party website, you will be subject to the terms of use, privacy policy and/or editorial policy of that site. Your linking to such websites is at your own risk, and Carma is not responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damages or loss caused or alleged to be caused by, or in connection with, your use of or reliance on any content, goods or services available on or through any such site.
You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless Carma and its subsidiaries, agents, licensors, managers, and other affiliated companies, and their employees, contractors, agents, officers and directors, from and against any and all claims, damages, obligations, losses, liabilities, costs or debt, and expenses (including but not limited to attorneys' fees) arising from: (i) your use of and access to the Service, including any data or content transmitted or received by you; (ii) your violation of any term of this Agreement, including without limitation your breach of any of the representations and warranties above; (iii) your violation of any third-party right, including without limitation any right of privacy, publicity rights or Intellectual Property Rights; (iv) your violation of any law, rule or regulation of the United States or any other country; (v) any claim or damages that arise as a result of anything of any nature that is submitted via your account; or (vi) any other party's access and use of the Service with your unique username, password or other appropriate security code. We reserve the right, at our own expense, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification by you, in which event you will cooperate with us in asserting any available defenses.
This Agreement shall commence upon the acceptance by Carma of the User's registration for a Carma account. The term of this Agreement shall continue until such time as a User's account is canceled in accordance with our termination requirements. A User may terminate their account and all associated User accounts / data upon prior notice by calling us at +1 (415) 995-8588, or emailing team@gocarma.com, or canceling services on the Carma website. The termination will only be considered effective once the User has returned to Carma any Hardware or any other property of Carma that the User has in the User's possession.
Carma may also, permanently or temporarily terminate, suspend or otherwise permit Your access to the Services without notice and liability, for any reason, including if in Carma's sole discretion, You violate or fail to comply with any term or condition specified in the Agreement or any Rules; or engage in any activities or conduct that Carma, in its reasonable sole discretion, determines to be inappropriate, negligent, offensive, abusive or otherwise unacceptable.
In such event of termination or suspension of Your access to the Services, You will not be eligible to receive HOV toll discounts, rewards for vehicles that You register and You will not be included and considered as an occupant in any other vehicle during the period of termination or suspension.
Upon termination, all of the User's rights to use Services shall immediately terminate. The User agrees to return immediately to Carma any Hardware or any other property of Carma that the User has in the User's possession. You will continue to be bound by this Agreement. All aspects of the Service are subject to change or elimination at Carma's sole discretion. Carma reserves the right to interrupt the Service with or without prior notice for any reason or no reason. You agree that Carma will not be liable to You for any interruption of the Service, delay or failure to perform.
Additionally, the User shall be responsible for and agrees to pay any legal fees, court costs or expenses associated with enforcing the terms of this Agreement, whether upon termination or otherwise (including, without limitation, any costs relating to recovering any of the foregoing property or any amounts due and owing to Carma).
Before asserting a claim in any proceeding (including in an individual arbitration or in a small claims proceeding), you and Carma both agree that we shall give the other party written notice of the claim to be asserted 30 days before initiating a proceeding and make a reasonable good faith effort to resolve the claim. If you are intending to assert a claim against Carma, you must send the written notice of the claim to Carma Legal Dept., team@gocarma.com. If Carma is intending to assert a claim against you, we will send the written notice of the claim to you at your address appearing in our records.
You agree that any cause of action you may have with respect to Carma or the Service must be commenced within one (1) year after the claim or cause of action arises, notwithstanding any statutes of limitation to the contrary.
In the event of a dispute that cannot be resolved informally through the pre-dispute resolution procedure, you and Carma agree to arbitrate all disputes and claims, including the interpretation and scope of this provision, and the arbitrability of the dispute or claim.
Under this dispute resolution provision, arbitrators can award the same individual relief affecting individual parties that a court can award, including damages and an award of attorneys' fees, if the applicable law allows.
The arbitrator may not consolidate more than one person's claims, and may not otherwise preside over any form of a class, representative, or private attorney general proceeding. You and Carma agree to seek only such relief — whether in the form of damages, an injunction, or other non-monetary relief — as is necessary to resolve any individual injury that either you or Carma have suffered or may suffer. In particular, if either you or Carma seek non-monetary relief, such relief must be individualized and may not affect individuals or entities other than you or Carma. This requirement that claims be brought in binding arbitration only in an individual capacity and not as a representative, private attorney general, or class action (“Class Action Waiver”) is non-severable. If the Class Action Waiver is found to be unenforceable, then the entirety of this dispute resolution provision shall be null and void.
If you are not an individual person (but are instead, for instance, a partnership, corporation, or other form of entity or non-natural person) (hereafter “Entity Use”), arbitrations shall proceed at a location that the arbitrator selects unless you and Carma agree otherwise.
Regardless of the manner in which the arbitration is conducted, the arbitrator shall issue a reasoned written decision sufficient to explain the essential findings and conclusions on which the award is based. The arbitrator's award shall be final and may be enforced in any court of competent jurisdiction. Further, an arbitrator's award and any judgment confirming it shall apply only to that specific case and cannot be used in any other case except to enforce the award itself.
Each party will pay its own fees and costs.
If you have any questions about the content of these Terms of Service and the Privacy Policy, please contact team@gocarma.com.
