Privacy Notice

Last revised May, 2021

Protecting your personal information is important to BC Transit. This notice explains our personal information practices which reflect the requirements of British Columbia’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIPPA), the British Columbia Transit Act and Canada’s Anti-Spam legislation. This notice provides information about the type of personal information held by BC Transit and how personal information is collected, used and disclosed.

BC Transit is accountable for the personal information under our control. In addition to this notice, BC Transit has management practices to prevent and address the unauthorized access, use or disclosure of personal information. We are transparent about our information handling practices and ensure that our privacy policies and procedures are available to you. BC Transit’s Senior Privacy Officer oversees our privacy compliance and our procedures are reviewed regularly to ensure compliance with FOIPPA and leading practices.

For more information, please contact:

Privacy and FOI

BC Transit
520 Gorge Rd East
Victoria BC V8W 9T5    250-385-2551    

Privacy@BCTransit.com 

WHAT IS PERSONAL INFORMATION?

Personal information is any recorded information about an identifiable individual, and may include:

  • Name, address, telephone number or email address
  • Birth date
  • Any identifying number, symbol or other particular identifier
  • Information relating to financial transaction, including credit card number and bank account information
  • Correspondence from an individual providing their views to BC Transit.

Business contact information is not personal information. Business contact information is information to enable an individual at a place of business to be contacted and includes the name, position name or title, business telephone number, business address or business email of the individual.

WHAT PERSONAL INFORMATION DOES BC TRANSIT COLLECT? 

We do not collect personal information unless you volunteer it and we delete your personal information once the purpose for which you offered it is met. BC Transit does not build profiles of its website readers and does not attempt to track individuals. We often aggregate (de-identify collected personal information), for the purpose of improving BC Transit products, services and website. The aggregated data is formatted to prevent or limit the chances of revealing an individual’s identity. This data may be used to show general statistics or track customer behavior as a whole (for example, the number of customers living in a certain area). Such aggregated data is used by BC Transit to plan, develop, implement, market and promote our services. It will not be used to identify you.

The following describes what personal information we collect and how that information is used:

  • Video recording on buses and in our facilities, audio recording on buses around the Transit Operator only, incident reports and witness statements. For the safety and security of BC Transit customers, visitors and employees, as well as for the prevention and detection of criminal activity. For more information, please see this link.

  • Claims information including claimant and witness contact information and statements for incident investigations.

  • General inquiries by phone, feedback forms and email. Personal information collected is limited to what authorized BC Transit employees need to investigate your inquiry and follow up with you. Telephone inquiries may be recorded to enhance customer service and for training purposes.

  • handyDART and Taxi Saver applicant and registered user information including health information, travel history and incident reports to provide these services.

  • People and Culture employee applicant information, employee and beneficiary information to hire and support our employees.

  • BC Transit Website  When you visit BC Transit's website to browse, read pages or download information, we will gather and store certain information used for the purpose of assessing system performance, providing regional presentations, improving web services, website management and market research.

Customer email alerts and advisories so we can keep your preferences for advisories the next time you visit our website. When you send us an email or complete an online form, we collect your name, email address, and your message so that we may reply to you if necessary. This information will uniquely identify you from other users and can be used to retrieve log-in information should it be lost. If you create a personal account and subsequently delete it, your personal information will be removed from BC Transit’s database. 

Public consultations, market research, newsletters, promotions, surveys and contests allow BC Transit to seek input from our website visitors or directly through public events. This information is aggregated for the purpose of improving BC Transit products, services and website.

Social media features on our website such as the Facebook Like button and the Twitter Tweet button are hosted by third parties. To protect your privacy and the privacy of others, please do not include any contact information, such as names, phone numbers or e-mail addresses in the body of your comment. Please do not share personal information about others, including pictures, unless you have their consent or the authority to do so.

Your interactions with these features are governed by the Privacy Notice of the third party providing the feature. BC Transit encourages you to examine the Privacy Notice and disclaimer of each third party and make your own decisions regarding the disclosure of your personal information to those sites. The personal information you post on these social media features with respect to BC Transit may be collected by us with your consent for the purposes of consulting with the public and BC Transit promotions, proposals and programs.

COOKIES  Our website uses session cookies that expire once your viewing session has ended. A cookie is a small piece of data that is transferred to your browser by a web server and can’t be used as code or deliver a virus. Like many other websites, our cookies collect information that provides the reader with an enhanced experience while visiting our website.

HOW WE PROTECT YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

BC Transit makes every effort to ensure that our safeguards not only comply with FOIPPA, but also reflect current trends and industry standards. The personal information we collect is used only by authorized BC Transit employees in the performance of their duties and for the purpose that it was originally collected. Our internal policies and procedures, based on “need-to-know” principles, restrict access to your information. BC Transit strives to protect your personal information against loss or theft, as well as unauthorized access, disclosure, use or modification regardless of the format in which it is held.

Safeguards used to protect your personal information include:

  • technical safeguards, such as the use of passwords, encryption and firewalls
  • physical safeguards, such as facility access controls, workstation security, placing written information in locked filing cabinets, and mobile device security requirements
  • administrative safeguards, such as requirements for employee security clearances and limiting access on a "need-to-know" basis.

We do not sell or trade any personal information and will not disclose such information to third parties, except as authorized by law. Our suppliers are bound by confidentiality clauses in contracts with BC Transit to not use personal information for any unauthorized purpose.  Personal information will be kept for only as long as required for the reason it was collected, or further if required by law. 

CHOICE

BC Transit complies with Canada’s Anti-Spam Law. If at any time you wish to stop receiving emails from us, please just let us know by using the unsubscribe feature in the email you received, or by emailing, calling or writing us using the contact information on our website.

WHAT IF I WANT TO MAKE A FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST?

BC Transit provides access to records and responds to privacy complaints in accordance with FOIPPA. Under FOIPPA, you may make a request for access to records in the custody or under the control of BC Transit. FOIPPA requires that some information not be disclosed and contains a number of specific exceptions to the public's right of access to information.

To make a freedom of information request, please send an email to FOI_Request@bctransit.com

or write or call us at

Privacy and FOI

BC Transit
520 Gorge Rd East
Victoria BC V8W 9T5    250-385-2551     

CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY NOTICE

BC Transit may revise this Privacy Notice from time to time to ensure that it is consistent with the law, privacy management and website administration practices.

CAN I ACCESS OR CORRECT MY PERSONAL INFORMATION?

Yes. If you wish to access or correct the information we have about you, please contact

BC Transit’s Privacy Officer using the contact information at the top of this page.

WHAT IF I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT BC TRANSIT’S PRIVACY NOTICE?

If you have any questions or concerns about the collection of your personal information or this privacy and collection notice, please contact BC Transit’s Privacy Officer using the contact information at the top of this page.

WHAT IF I WANT TO CHALLENGE BC TRANSIT’S PRIVACY PRACTICES?

BC Transit has procedures in place to receive and respond to complaints or inquiries about our policies and practices related to the handling of personal information. If you believe that we are not complying with the principles set out in this Privacy Notice or FOIPPA, please contact BC Transit’s Privacy Officer using the contact information at the top of this page, and your concern will be investigated. If a complaint is found to be justified, we will take appropriate measures to resolve the matter.