Privacy Policy

Mears Privacy Policy

MEARS PRIVACY NOTICE

Last Updated: June 4, 2021

 

Mears Destination Services, Inc., Mears Global Chauffeured Services, Inc., City Cab Company of Orlando, LLC, and Yellow Cab Company of Orlando, LLC, collectively doing business as Mears Transportation Group, and other members or affiliates of the Mears Transportation Group ( “Mears”) are committed to respecting the privacy and maintaining the security of your personal information. This Privacy Notice describes our collection and use of personal information, including data collected on our websites (which include, but are not limited to, mears.com, mearstransportation.com, mearsglobal.com, mearsconnect.com and mearstaxi.com) and any current or future mobile application (collectively, the “Platform”), as well through other means.

The term “personal information” means any data that specifically identifies you or your household, such as your first and last name, email address, mailing address, telephone number, and payment card information.

If you are a California resident, please see the “California Residents’ Rights” section below for more information about additional rights you may have.

  1. Information Collected by Mears or its Service Providers

As described in more detail below, we may collect information when you provide it to us, indirectly through certain collection technologies, and from certain third parties.

  1. Information You Provide

Reservations.  When you or someone on your behalf makes a reservation either through the Platform or by contacting us through other means, we collect your name, telephone number, email address, pick-up and drop-off locations, payment card information, and, where applicable, travel information.

Account Registration.  The Platform and related services may require registration for access. As part of registration and related services, we ask you to provide us certain information about you.

Website Contacts.  You may provide personal information using the Platform in a number of ways, for example by entering that information into data fields on the Platform (e.g., by registering for an account or making a reservation).

Contacting Us.  When you contact us, the email address and/or telephone number you use to communicate with us generally will be collected directly from you or from our phone system, and any additional information you provide may also be collected to respond to your inquiries.  Your telephone call with our customer service and/or dispatch representatives may be recorded.

Payment Processing.  When you make payment through the Platform or via telephone, we collect information about the transaction. This includes the date of the transaction, payment information, such as your credit or debit card number and other card information, and other account and authentication information, as well as billing and contact details.

Applicants, Contractors, and Employees.  If you apply for employment with us, submit an application to be an independent contractor, or obtain a job with us, then you typically will be asked to provide your name, telephone number, email address, mailing address, educational information, work history, social security number, date of birth, and driver’s license information.  For certain positions, you may also be asked to answer questions relating to driving history, criminal history, and drug and alcohol testing history.

  1. Information Collection Technologies

Server Information.  Like most internet websites, Mears’ servers automatically and temporarily store the following information in the server log files. This information is provided by your browser, unless you have deactivated the function.

  • IP address of the enquiring computer
  • File query by the client
  • Http response code
  • Internet page from which you visited us (referrer URL)
  • Browser type and version
  • Operating system used on the enquiring computer

The server log files are not analyzed with respect to individuals. At no time can this data be attributed to specific individuals.

Site Visit Tracking Technologies.  As is standard practice on many websites, the Platform may use “cookies” and other technologies to help Mears understand which parts of the Platform are the most popular and the preferences of Mears users. Mears may also use cookies and other technologies to study traffic patterns on the Platform, to improve its functionality and usability as well as to improve the effectiveness of Mears’ communications with its users. Mears may also use cookies to customize your experience and provide greater convenience to you during your interactions with the Platform.

A cookie is a unique alphanumeric identifier that websites use to help identify the number of unique visitors to a website, whether or not those visitors are repeat visitors, and the source of the visits. Cookies cannot be executed as code or used to deliver a virus and thus pose no threat to you. Servers and sites other than the one placing the cookie on your hard drive cannot read the cookie, and no personal information can be gathered by other servers from the cookie. If you prefer not to enable cookies or to disable them, you may do so through your web browser’s security settings. Please note that certain features of the Platform may not be available once cookies have been disabled.

Like most websites, the Platform gathers certain information automatically and stores it in log files. This information includes internet protocol (“IP”) addresses, browser type, operating system, internet service provider (“ISP”), referring/exit pages, date/time stamp of access, and clickstream data, and information about the content you view on the Platform. When you visit the Platform, the servers automatically log your IP address, the time and duration of your visit, and the time and duration spent on the pages of the Platform which you view. If you arrive at the Platform by clicking a paid advertisement or a link in a communication, then the server will capture information that tracks your visit from that link. If you arrive at the Platform by clicking on a non-paid source, such as a search engine result or link on another website, the server may capture information that tracks your visit from that source, to the extent available.

Some of Mears’ communications to you may contain a “click-through URL” which links to content on the Platform. When you click one of these URLs, it passes information through the Mears web server before you arrive at the destination web page. Mears tracks this click-through data to help determine interest in particular topics and measure the effectiveness of our communications. If you prefer not to be tracked, simply avoid clicking text or graphic links in emails you receive from Mears.

Certain features of the Platform may use local stored objects (“Flash cookies”) to collect and store information about your preferences and navigation to, from, and on our website. Flash cookies are not managed by the same browser settings as are used for browser cookies.

Mears additionally may use web beacons or pixel tags, which are tiny invisible graphic images, in the Platform. Web beacons and pixel tags may be used by Mears to count users who have visited its webpages and for related website statistics (for example, recording the popularity of certain website content and verifying system and server integrity).

Smart Phones.  If you use a smart phone to access the Platform, we may be provided with and collect device-specific information, including your hardware model, operating system version, unique device identifiers, phone number, and mobile network information. We may associate your device identifiers or phone number with your account information.

  1. Information from Third Parties

We may receive personal information from other sources.

Social Media.  If you connect your social media account(s) to your account, the social media site may share information with us about your use of their services, including information about your profile, contacts, and viewed or liked content. If you post publicly on social media sites, we may also collect that information.  We encourage you to read the applicable privacy policies for your social media accounts. We have no responsibility for the data collection and use practices of those social media sites.

Third-Party Analytics.  We may use third-party service providers (e.g., Google Analytics) to collect and analyze information about use of the Platform.  We do not receive information from these service providers that can be used to specifically identify you.

Background and Credit Checks.  If you are a job applicant, employee, or contractor, then, as permitted by applicable law, we may obtain background check and credit check information from a third party to evaluate your application or to ensure that you meet certain conditions of employment or eligibility to contract with Mears. 

Drug Screening.  For certain employee and contractor positions and work assignments, we may require you to undergo drug screening prior to employment, prior to certain assignments, randomly, or upon reasonable suspicion.  A third-party service provider performs these screenings on our behalf.

  1. Use of Personal Information

Mears and its service providers may use your personal information to provide our services and to contact you in response to inquiries you submit. Mears and its service providers may use your information to manage our contractual relationship with you, because we have a legitimate interest to do so, and/or to comply with a legal obligation:

  • to provide transportations services to you;
  • to process payments from you;
  • to provide you with information or services that you request from us;
  • to present our Platform and related content to you;
  • to provide you with notices about your account;
  • in combination with other information for Platform improvement and marketing and promotional purposes;
  • to provide more consistent and personalized services across the Platform, including to personalize our advertising, marketing, and promotional efforts;
  • to carry out our obligations and enforce our rights arising from any contracts entered into between you and us, including for billing and collection;
  • to notify you about changes to the Platform or any services we offer or provide through it;
  • to allow you to participate in interactive features on the Platform;
  • to allow you to participate in mobile device applications linked to interactive features on our website;
  • to evaluate and communicate with you about your application for employment or a contractor position;
  • in any other way we may describe when you provide the information;
  • for any other purpose with your consent.

On other occasions where we ask you for consent, we will use the information for the purposes which we explain at that time. You have the right to withdraw your consent at any time; however, we may have other legal grounds for processing your information, including those identified above.

  1. Sharing and Disclosure of Personal Information

We do not sell your personal information; however, we may disclose your personal information and certain other information in connection with operating our business. Specifically:

Affiliated Transportation Service Providers.  We may share your personal information (typically name, telephone number, pick-up address, drop-off location, and, if applicable, travel information) with our affiliates for the purpose of providing transportation services to you.  The entities with which we share information may be located in the United States or other countries.

Service Providers.  We may disclose your personal information with certain services providers, such as our cloud hosting service provider or the companies we use for credit and/or background checks.  These service providers are generally not permitted to use any personal information they may receive from us for purposes other than providing services to or on behalf of us.

Business Transactions.  In the event that Mears or some of our assets are sold or transferred or used as security, or to the extent we engage in business negotiations with our business partners, certain personal information that we have collected and stored may be transferred or shared with third parties as part of that transaction or negotiation.

Legal Requirements.  On rare occasions, we may disclose specific information without your consent and without notice to you as required to comply with laws and regulations, or to comply with court orders, subpoenas, or lawful discovery requests.  Information collected from you may also be used to investigate security breaches or otherwise cooperate with authorities.

To Protect Us and Others.  We may disclose information about you without your consent and without notice to you as required to enforce or apply the Terms and Conditions of Use, or other agreements, including for billing and collection purposes.  We may disclose your personal information if we believe it is necessary to protect Mears and/or other third parties, including, for example, to assist in fraud protection or investigation.

Aggregated and De-Identified Information.  Aggregated and de-identified information is not personal information because it cannot be attributed to any specific individual.  We may disclose aggregated information without restriction.  Mears may disclose aggregated data in order to describe our services to current and prospective affiliates, and to other third parties for lawful purposes.

  1. How Mears Protects Your Personal Information

Mears has implemented reasonable physical, technical, and organizational safeguards to help protect your personal information from unauthorized access, acquisition, or disclosure, alteration, or destruction. Although we strive to keep your personal information secure, no safeguards can be guaranteed to be completely secure, so you should exercise caution when transferring personal and other sensitive information over the Internet. Please advise us immediately at the address listed below of any incident involving the loss of or unauthorized access to or disclosure of personal information that is in our custody or control.

  1. Third-Party Sites

The Platform may contain links to other websites. Please note that when you click on one of these links, you will leave the Platform and will be subject to the policies and privacy practices of the other site, which may differ significantly. You should review the policies of other sites you visit. Mears is not responsible for the content, technology, security, or practices of linked sites operated by others, or for your use of linked sites.

  1. Children’s Privacy

Our services and the Platform are not aimed at or intended for children. We do not knowingly collect information from children under the age of thirteen. If we obtain actual knowledge that we have inadvertently collected personal information relating to a child under the age of thirteen, we will delete that information from our records. If you believe we might have any information from or about a child under the age of thirteen, please contact us at webmaster@mears.com.

  1. Applicable Law

We recognize that the Platform may be accessed from anywhere in the world, and that the laws of the jurisdictions in which some users are located may differ substantially from those of the United States and the State of Florida. You should be aware that data related to the Platform is hosted, processed, and handled in the United States.

Because we cannot practicably prevent users in different jurisdictions from accessing the Platform, you are responsible for knowing and complying with the laws of your jurisdiction. If such laws conflict with your use of the Platform or any of its content or functionality, the Platform is not intended for you, and we ask you not to use it or submit any information through it. We comply with all applicable laws of the United States. In the event of a conflict between United States legal requirements and the legal requirements of other jurisdictions, we will defer to United States legal requirements.

  1. Do Not Track

“Do Not Track” is a privacy setting that you may set in your web browsers. If turned on, this setting requests that websites not track information about users. At this time, we do not respond to “Do Not Track” browser settings or signals.

  1. Data Retention

We retain personal information for as long as necessary to provide services to you and fulfill the transactions you have requested, or for other necessary purposes such as complying with our legal obligations and enforcing our agreements. Retention periods vary depending on the type of information and how it is used. The criteria we use to determine the appropriate retention periods include:

  • How long we have a relationship with you and provide services or products to you.
  • Whether there is a legal, contractual or similar obligation that requires us to keep your information.
  • Whether you have consented to retention of your information for a longer period of time.

When we no longer need to use or retain your personal information, we will automatically remove it from our systems, subject to complying with our legal obligations.

 

  1. Rights to Access and Control Your Personal Information

You have choices about the collection, use, and sharing of your personal information, including:

  • Deletion: You can request that we erase or delete all or some of your personal information (e.g., it is no longer necessary to provide services to you).
  • Change or Correct: You can review and change your personal information by logging onto the Platform and visiting your account. You may also send us an email at customerinfo@mears.com to correct any personal information that you have provided to us.
  • Object to or Restrict Use: You can request that we stop using some or all of your personal information or restrict our use of your personal information.
  • Access and/or Take: You can request a copy of your personal information.
  • Marketing: You may opt-out of direct marketing or profiling we carry out for direct marketing by sending us an email at optout@mears.com.
  • Withdrawing Consent: If we have collected or processed your personal information with your consent, you may withdraw your consent at any time. Withdrawing your consent will not affect the lawfulness of any processing we conducted prior to your withdrawal, nor will it affect processing of your personal information based on other lawful processing grounds.

For your protection, we may need to verify your identity before fulfilling your request. Please note that we may need to retain certain information for recordkeeping purposes or to complete transactions that occurred prior your request. We will also retain your personal information if reasonably necessary to provide services you request, comply with our legal obligations, meet regulatory requirements, resolve disputes, maintain security, prevent fraud and abuse, and enforce the Terms and Conditions of Use. To learn more about how to make these requests, please contact us at webmaster@mears.com.

  1. International Transfers

Mears primarily provides transportation services in the United States; however, there may be occasions where we receive personal information of persons from outside the United States or needs to provide certain personal information to our affiliates in other countries so they can provide transportation services.  We may transfer your personal information to or from other countries in compliance with applicable laws.

While the EU-U.S. and Swiss-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework may no longer be relied upon for the transfer of personal information from the European Economic Area or Switzerland, Mears continues to comply with all EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework and Swiss-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework obligations.  For more information, visit the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Privacy Shield Program website

  1. Updates to this Privacy Notice

Mears may update this Privacy Notice and the Platform to reflect material changes in how we collect, use, share, or store your information, to satisfy legal requirements, or for other business purposes. You should review this Privacy Notice when you visit the Platform to understand our current practices. The date at the top of the page shows when this Privacy Notice was last updated.

We encourage you to refer to this Privacy Notice on an ongoing basis so that you understand our current practices. You consent to any changes we make to this Privacy Notice if you continue to use the Platform after receiving a notice of the change or upon our posting of the new Privacy Notice on the Platform.

  1. Interpretation of this Privacy Notice

Any interpretation associated with this Privacy Notice will be made by Mears’ legal counsel. This Privacy Notice includes examples but is not intended to be restricted in its application to such examples, therefore where the word “including” is used, it means “including without limitation.”

This Privacy Notice does not create or confer upon any individual any rights, or impose upon Mears any rights or obligations outside of, or in addition to, any rights or obligations imposed by applicable country, state, and other privacy laws, as applicable. Should there be, in a specific case, any inconsistency between this Privacy Notice and applicable privacy laws, this Privacy Notice shall be interpreted in that case to give effect to, and comply with, such privacy laws.

  1. Contact Us

If you have questions or comments about this Privacy Notice or the Platform, please contact us using the information below.

Mears Transportation Group

324 West Gore Street

Orlando, FL 32806

webmaster@mears.com

 

California Residents’ Rights

The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), California’s “Shine the Light” law, and the California Online Privacy Protection Act provide consumers who are California residents with specific rights regarding their Personal Information.  If you are a California resident, this section provides you with additional information, describes your rights and explains how to exercise those rights.

Categories of Information Collected

In the 12 months preceding the Last Updated date of this Notice, we have collected or received the following categories of Personal Information about California residents.

Category

Types of Information Collected

Purpose for Collection

A. Identifiers.

 

Real name, postal address, Internet Protocol (IP) address, email address, social security insurance number, driver’s license number.

- Providing transportation services

- Processing payments for services

- Marketing our services, new services, service pricing and discounts

- Evaluating applications for employment opportunities

B. Personal information categories listed in the California Customer Records statute (Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.80(e)).

 

Name, social security number, address, telephone number, education, employment, employment history, bank account number, credit card number, debit card number, medical information, or health insurance information.

Some personal information included in this category may overlap with other categories.

- Providing transportation services

- Processing payments for services

- Marketing our services, new services, service pricing and discounts

- Evaluating applications for employment opportunities

D. Commercial information.

 

Records of products or services purchased.

- Providing transportation services

- Marketing our services, new services, service pricing and discounts

F. Internet or other similar network activity.

 

Browsing history, search history, information on a consumer’s interaction with a website, application, or advertisement.

- Evaluating and improving the Platform

G. Geolocation data.

Physical location or movements.

- Providing transportation services and updates regarding services

- Reviewing, evaluating, and trying to resolve customer service issues

H. Sensory data.

Video and audio recordings.

- Reviewing, evaluating, and trying to resolve customer service issues

- Protecting passengers and drivers

 

In the 12 months preceding the Last Updated date of this Notice, we have disclosed the following categories of Personal Information for a business purpose as described above:

Category A: Identifiers.

Category B: California Customer Records personal information categories.

Category D: Commercial information.

Category F: Internet or other similar network activity.

Category G: Geolocation data.

Category H: Sensory data.

 

Right to Information.  Subject to certain limits, you may ask us to provide the following information for the 12-month period preceding your request:

  • The categories of Personal Information we collected about you;
  • The categories of sources from which the Personal Information was collected;
  • The business or commercial purpose for collecting the Personal Information;
  • The categories of third parties with whom we shared the Personal Information;
  • If we disclosed Personal Information for a business purpose, a list of the disclosures including the Personal Information categories that each category of recipient received; and
  • The specific pieces of Personal Information we collected about you.

We do not provide these information rights for Personal Information that we obtain through a business-to-business (B2B) relationship.

Right to Delete.  You also have the right to ask us to delete any Personal Information that we have collected about you, subject to certain limitations as set forth under CCPA. We may deny your deletion request if the information is necessary for us or our service providers to, among other things, provide a good or service you requested, take actions reasonably anticipated in the context of our business relationship with you, perform a contract we have with you, detect and protect against security incidents or illegal activity, comply with a legal obligation, or exercise a right provided for by law.

Right to Nondiscrimination.  We will not discriminate against you if you exercise your privacy rights under California law, including by:

  • Denying you goods or services.
  • Charging you different prices or rates for goods or services, including through granting discounts or other benefits, or imposing penalties.
  • Providing you a different level or quality of goods or services.
  • Suggesting that you may receive a different price or rate for goods or services or a different level or quality of goods or services.

However, the CCPA permits us to offer you certain financial incentives that can result in different prices, rates, or quality levels, which are related to your Personal Information’s value.  Participation in a financial incentive program requires your prior opt-in consent, which you may revoke at any time.  We do not offer financial incentives at this time. 

Submission of Requests for Information or to Delete.  If you are a California resident, you may submit a request for information or a request to delete by:

Calling us at 855-463-2776.

Emailing us at webmaster@mears.com – please provide your name, telephone number, and type of request (that is, a request for categories of information, a request for specific pieces of information, and/or a request to delete).

What We May Need from You

We may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity and ensure your right to access your Personal Data (or to exercise any of your other rights). This is a security measure to ensure that Personal Data is not disclosed to any person who has no right to receive it. We may also contact you to ask you for further information in relation to your request to speed up our response.

Verifying Your Identity: To protect your privacy and security, we will take reasonable steps to verify your identity before providing your Personal Information and before deleting your information. Only you or someone legally authorized to act on your behalf may make a verifiable request related to your Personal Information. For example, if you make a request, we will ask you to confirm your name, email address, and/or other information we in our records to verify your identity, so that we can help protect your information. 

Requests from Authorized Agents:  If you live in California, you may designate an authorized agent to make a request for you.  If you designate an authorized agent to make a request on your behalf, we may require you to verify your identity and provide the authorized agent’s identity and contact information to us.

Responses to Requests.  We do not charge a fee to respond to your request unless it is repetitive (more than twice in a 12-month period) or excessive.  We will confirm receipt of your request within 10 business days of receipt and generally will respond to your request within 45 days of receipt.  If we need more time to respond, we will inform you of the reason and we may take up to an additional 45 days to respond. 

No Fee Usually Required

You will not have to pay a fee to access your Personal Information (or to exercise any of the other rights). However, we may charge a reasonable fee if your request is clearly unfounded, repetitive or excessive. Alternatively, we may refuse to comply with your request in these circumstances.