Metro News Release
For immediate release: April 8, 2010
SmarTrip® card users soon may be able to access information online
Revised privacy policy would allow online access to SmarTrip® information
SmarTrip® card users may soon be able to access their SmarTrip® information online. Metro’s Policy, Program Development and Intergovernmental Relations Committee gave preliminary approval today (April 8) to revise Metro’s Privacy Policy to allow online access to SmarTrip® information by the card’s registered owner.
The Privacy Policy allows individuals to access and review records containing their personal information maintained by Metro. When the Board approved the policy in 2005, Metro’s technology did not provide for online access of SmarTrip® information.
Currently, all requests for SmarTrip® data are made through the Public Access to Records Policy and responses are provided in hard copy. Providing online access to SmarTrip® data will save Metro approximately $6,000 per year of staff time and copying costs incurred in responding to requests for paper records.
In order for customers to access their SmarTrip® information online, Metro will collect the name, address, date of birth, phone number and e-mail address associated with the SmarTrip® card holder. The user then will be required to establish a user name, password, responses to three security questions and a digital signature to confirm that he or she is the registered user of the card.
SmarTrip® card users, who already have registered their cards to protect the value that is stored on the card, will need to verify personal information associated with the card on file. If the user is unable to exactly match personal information, he or she will be required to contact the Regional Customer Center by telephone to verify recent ridership, usage and transactional information associated with the card.
The full Board is expected to vote on the revision to the Privacy Policy at its April 22 meeting. Customers can expect to access their SmarTrip® information online by July 2010 as part of a number of SmarTrip® service improvements that are expected to take place this year.
News release issued at 2:39 pm, April 8, 2010.