Effective date: 2026-06-15 · Last updated: 2026-06-15
Who we are
Rural Ride is a shared rural microtransit service operated by Rural Ride ("we", "us", "our"). This policy explains what personal information the Rural Ride mobile app and backend collect, why we collect it, how we use and share it, and the choices you have. If you have questions, contact us at privacy@ruralmicrotransit.org.
This policy covers both riders and drivers who use the app. Where a practice applies to only one, we say so.
Information we collect
We collect only what is needed to operate the service. We do not sell your data and we do not use third-party advertising or cross-app tracking.
Account and contact information
First and last name
Phone number (used as your login identifier)
Email address (optional)
Date of birth and age (used to confirm eligibility)
Home/mailing address (street, city, state, ZIP)
Account password (stored only as a salted hash; we never store the plain text)
Emergency contacts (optional)
If you choose to add them, we store the contact's name, phone number, relationship, and — for a medical contact — a practice or hospital name. These are used only to support you in connection with your rides.
Location information
Riders: pickup and drop-off locations you enter or select (including saved addresses) so we can plan and dispatch your ride.
Drivers: while you are on an active shift, the app collects your device's precise GPS location, including in the background, and updates it periodically (about every 30 seconds). This is used to show riders the live position of their assigned vehicle and to support dispatching. Background location is collected only during an active shift and stops when you go off duty.
Ride information
Ride requests and completed rides, including pickup/drop-off, scheduled times, whether the ride is medical, and (for medical rides) an appointment time.
In-app assistant messages
If you use the in-app help assistant, the messages you send and the assistant's replies are processed to answer your question. These messages are sent to our AI provider (OpenAI) to generate a response and are retained for support and quality purposes.
Device and technical information
Basic device/session information needed to keep you signed in securely and to operate the service (for example, session tokens and optional device details you provide at login).
How we use your information
Create and manage your account and keep you signed in securely
Take, plan, dispatch, and complete ride requests
Show riders the live location of their assigned vehicle (driver location)
Provide customer support and respond to in-app assistant questions
Maintain the safety, security, and integrity of the service (e.g. preventing abuse)
Meet legal, accounting, and operational record-keeping obligations
How we share your information
We share personal information only as needed to run the service:
Between riders and drivers as needed for a ride — e.g. a rider can see their assigned driver's live vehicle location; a driver can see the rider's name and pickup details for an assigned ride.
Service providers that process data on our behalf, including our cloud hosting provider, Google (Maps, Places, and Directions for mapping and routing), and OpenAI (in-app assistant responses).
Legal and safety — when required by law, or to protect the rights, safety, and security of users and the service.
We do not sell personal information and do not share it for advertising or cross-app tracking.
Data retention
We keep personal information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide the service. Ride history is retained for operational and record-keeping purposes. Driver location history is retained for a limited period and then purged. When you delete your account (see below), we remove or anonymize your personal information as described.
Your choices and rights
Account deletion: You can delete your account from within the app. When you do, we permanently remove or anonymize your personal information — name, contact details, date of birth, address, password, emergency contacts, saved addresses, accessibility settings, assistant messages, and (for drivers) location history. Because completed rides must be retained for operational and legal records, any past ride history is kept in an anonymized form that is no longer linked to your identity. Account deletion is unavailable while you have an upcoming or in-progress ride; cancel or contact the agency to resolve those first.
Access and correction: You can view and update profile information in the app, or contact us at privacy@ruralmicrotransit.org.
Location: You can control location permissions in your device settings. Drivers who disable location cannot share live position while on shift.
Children's privacy
Rural Ride is intended for adults and is not directed to children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.
Security
We protect your information using industry-standard measures, including encrypted transport (HTTPS), hashed passwords, and access controls. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, but we work to protect your information.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. We will post the updated version at this URL and revise the "Last updated" date above.