Commuter Cash Program Guidelines

Program Purpose

The purpose of the Commuter Connections Rewards Program within the CommuterCash Mobile Application (“Commuter Cash”) is to encourage commuters to take Single Occupant Vehicle (SOV) alternatives when commuting to and from work. By doing so, the overall transportation network will experience less strain as the demand for vehicles on roads is reduced. Instead of driving alone, CommuterCash users are encouraged to rideshare, take transit, bike, etc.

A secondary benefit from CommuterCash is the ability to help commuters who cannot feasibly participate in SOV-alternatives identify and avoid congested roadways. Additionally, CommuterCash monitors driving habits and offers customized tips to help promote eco-driving.

CommuterCash is targeted and available for commuters in the Washington, DC region. Commuters may use CommuterCash to plan any and all trips; only work commutes completed during the peak commute hours will offer points.

Accumulating and Redeeming Points

Registered Commuter Connections members (“Users”) who link their accounts to the CommuterCash mobile app will have the ability to earn points for planning and logging their eligible trips within Commuter Cash. Eligible trips are defined as work commute trips where travel originates at a home address and ends at a work office address, or vice-versa. Points can be earned for trips that occur during the peak commute times, defined for the purposes of this program as 6:30 am – 9:30 am and/or 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm during weekdays (excluding federal holidays). One (1) commute trip is eligible for points per each peak commute time window. A maximum of 100 points can be earned per trip. Additional ‘bonus’ points can be earned by completing goals, challenges, etc.

Points can be earned at variable amounts depending upon a user’s commuting habits. CommuterCash is funded in part by grant funds stipulating a focus on “mode shift” away from drive-alone commuting. As a result, CommuterCash awards a higher amount of points to new users trying out carpooling, transit, biking, or walking commutes. As users grow accustomed to these commute modes, point values awarded will change. Below is the point structure currently in place:

As an example: A user who regularly logs two daily non-SOV commute trips will spend 90 days in the Initial phase, 30 days in Sustain-1, 30 days in Sustain-2, and then placed in Sustain-3. The user will have earned approximately $310 over the course of his/her first six months of logging!

Commuter Connections Terms of Use

The below Terms are valid for all programs administered by Commuter Connections within CommuterCash, including the Commuter Connections Rewards Program and the Maryland DOT Rewards Program.

1. As a condition of participation, User must provide correct, current, and complete profile information.
2. User must provide a valid home/mailing address. Program materials, including checks, will be sent to this address.
3. User must provide a valid email address, phone number, and/or have downloaded the Commuter Connections app in order to earn points within CommuterCash.
4. Commuter Connections reserves the right to contact the User and/or the User’s employer to verify his/her participation in the Program and/or his/her commute behavior.
5. The information provided by the User will be used by Commuter Connections to facilitate his/her participation in CommuterCash.
6. The incentives offered through CommuterCash are provided to applicants on a first-come, first-serve basis and that Commuter Connections has the right to terminate this Program at any time without notice.
7. Users may earn up to $600 per calendar year through Commuter Connections’ various incentive programs, including both the Commuter Connections Reward Program and the Maryland DOT Reward Program within CommuterCash. This is also in combination with Commuter Connections’ other incentive programs (CarpoolNow, Flextime Rewards, and ‘Pool Rewards).
8. If a dispute arises regarding any aspect of CommuterCash, including, but not limited to, interpretation of the Program Guidelines, accuracy of the information the User provides, or the User’s eligibility to participate, Commuter Connections shall be the final decision-maker regarding such disputes. Any decision will be final and binding on the User’s status as a User in CommuterCash.
9. Commuter Connections reserves the right to alter the points allocation formula and/or points redemption values at any point without prior notification to the User.
10. Any incentive payments received by User from Commuter Connections are subject to federal and state income taxes. The User is solely responsible for any liability that may result from such incentive payments.
11. Commuter Connections reserves its rights to pursue any penalties and remedies to the fullest extent of the law against a User who knowingly provides false misleading information, knowingly receives public funds fraudulently, and/or knowingly abuses the use of public funds.
12. Commuter Connections reserves the right to refuse User’s application, discontinue User’s participation in CommuterCash, and/or withhold incentive payment(s) if the User fails to abide by the Program Guidelines, including the Terms of Use.
13. By participating in any CommuterCash Reward Program, User acknowledges that he/she has read, understood, and agreed to the Program Guidelines, including, but not limited to, the Terms of Use governing the program and certifies that he/she is eligible to participate and receive the incentives provided by Commuter Connections.
14. By providing information to Commuter Connections, User understands that such information may be used by Commuter Connections or a third party to contact User regarding his/her interest in additional financial incentives, additional programs or services, or for information related to his/her experience using alternative modes of transportation. If User does not wish to be contacted for these reasons, they can indicate so by checking a box when creating a Commuter Connections account profile

CommuterCash Privacy Policy

The purpose of this mobile application (“mobile app”) is to provide state-of-the-art tools, information, and services for various commuter programs designed to mitigate congestion and provide commuting alternatives. The Terms of Use spell out what you can expect from us and what we expect from you. By accessing any areas of CommuterCash.org or CommuterCash.com (the “CommuterCash mobile app”) program participants (“Users”) agree to be legally bound and to abide by the terms set forth below. The CommuterCash mobile app is owned and operated by Commuter Connections and the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (“MWCOG”). Any references herein to the CommuterCash mobile app shall be deemed to refer to Commuter Connections, as applicable under the circumstances.

The full set of terms can be found at https://commuterconnections.org/commutercash-privacy-policy/. Please read these Terms of Use carefully. By accessing, using or continuing to use this mobile application, Users agree to accept and to be bound by all of these Terms of Use. If User does not agree to accept and/or does not agree to be bound by all of these Terms of Use, then User is not to access, use, or continue to use the CommuterCash mobile app in any way whatsoever.

In accordance with the terms of Commuter Connections’ Privacy Policy, Commuter Connections respects the privacy of its Users.  Commuter Connections collects information about Users when they use its mobile applications, websites, and other online products and services (collectively, the “Services”) and through other interactions and communications via email or through the Commuter Connections call center.

All personal information provided to the CommuterCash mobile app is used for trip planning or other commuter program request purposes only. All personal information will remain confidential. Commuter Connections will not share or sell Users information to outside organizations or companies.

Commuter Connections collects information Users provide directly, such as when Users create or modifies User’s account, requests on-demand carpool services, contacts the Commuter Connections call center via email or by telephone, or directly communicates with Commuter Connections in any way. This information may include: name, email, phone number(s), postal address, profile picture, and other information User chooses to provide. Commuter Connections does not provide transportation services and is not a transportation carrier.  It is up to User’s sole discretion to decide whether or not to offer or accept a ride through the CommuterCash mobile app.

Commuters determine what contact information they share with other commuters. Your home address is not given to other commuters, unless the commuter elects to share it with other commuters through their commuter profile.

When you, as a User, use these Services, Commuter Connections (“we”) collects information about User in the following general categories:

• Location Information – When you use the Services for transportation or delivery, we collect Users’ precise location data about the trip from the CommuterCash mobile app. If you permit the mobile app to access location services through the permission system used by your mobile phone’s operating system, we may also collect the precise location of your device when the mobile app is running in the foreground or background. We may also derive your approximate location from your IP address.
• Transaction Information – We collect transaction details related to your use of our Services, including the type of service requested, date and time the service was provided, distance traveled, and other related transaction details.
• Usage and Preference Information – We collect information about how you and site visitors interact with our Services, preferences expressed, and settings chosen. In some cases, we do this through the use of cookies, pixel tags, and similar technologies that create and maintain unique identifiers.
• Device Information – We may collect information about your mobile operating device, including, for example, the hardware model, operating system and version, software and file names and versions, preferred language, unique device identifier, advertising identifiers, serial number, device motion information, and mobile network information.
• Log Information – When you interact with the CommuterCash mobile app, we collect server logs, which may include information like device IP address, access dates and times, app features or pages viewed, app crashes and other system activity, type of browser, and the third-party site or service you were using before interacting with our Services.

Most mobile platforms have defined certain types of device data that mobile apps cannot access without User’s consent. These platforms may have different permission systems for obtaining User’s consent. For more information on platform level permissions that the mobile app may seek, User should visit your smartphone applications permissions web site page. 

We request permission for the CommuterCash mobile app collection of precise location from your device per the permission system used by your mobile phone’s operating system. If you initially permit the collection of this information, you can later disable it by changing the location settings on your mobile device. However, this will limit your ability to use certain CommuterCash mobile app features. Additionally, disabling the mobile app’s collection of precise location from your device will not limit our ability to collect your trip location information from a user’s device nor our ability to derive approximate location from your IP address.

We may seek permission for Commuter Connections’ app’s collection and syncing of contact information from your device per the permission system used by your mobile operating system.

Commuter Connections may also receive information from other sources and combine that with information we collect through the CommuterCash mobile app. For example:

• If you choose to link, create, or log in to your Commuter Connections account with a social media service, or if you engage with a separate app or website that uses our Application Programming Interface (“API”) (or whose API we use), we may receive information about you or your connections from that site or app.
• If you also interact with our programs in another capacity, for instance as a user of other mobile apps or web sites we provide, we may combine or associate that information with information we have collected from you in your capacity as a CommuterCash mobile app User. We may use the information we collect about you to:
  • Provide, maintain and improve our programs services, including, for example, to send you information or provide products and services you request, develop new features, provide customer support to Users, authenticate Users, and send product updates and administrative messages;
  • Perform internal operations, including, for example, to prevent fraud and abuse of our program services; to troubleshoot software bugs and operational problems; to conduct data analysis, testing, and research; and to monitor and analyze usage and activity trends;
  • Send you communications we think will be of interest to you, including information about products, services, promotions, news, and events of Commuter Connections, where permissible and according to local applicable laws; and to process contest, sweepstake, or other promotion entries and fulfill any related awards. You may opt-out of receiving promotional messages from us by following the instructions in those messages. If you opt-out, we may still send you non-promotional communications, such as those about your account, about Services you have requested, or our ongoing business relations;
  • Personalize and improve the services, including to provide or recommend features, content, social connections, referrals, and advertisements.