Terms of Service

With the arrival of The Wave, our new e-fare system, we are updating our terms of service. While many of the changes address the new interactions we will have with riders through The Wave, these updates apply to all interactions you may have with RIPTA online.

Below, you will find our full terms of service. By using our services, you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service.

1. General Terms

These terms cover your use of all of RIPTA’s services, including our website, The Wave e-fare system and related services.

By using these services (even if you don’t register your Wave card), you agree to be bound by these terms of service.

These Terms of Service form a legal agreement between you and RIPTA. These Terms of Service govern your use of all electronic services offered by RIPTA, including services offered through its website, mobile applications (“apps”) and other electronic services (collectively, the “Services”).

These General Terms apply to all electronic Services. Additional terms apply to specific Services, and those additional terms are described below in Section II (“Specific Service Terms”).

By accessing the Services on any computer, mobile phone, tablet, console, or other devices, or through use of an electronic fare card, you signify that you have read, understand, and agree to be bound by these Terms of Service, whether or not you are a registered Services user. We have the right to change these Terms of Service at any time. We agree to post a notice of the changes in the footer of our websites, and the changes will be effective 30 days after posting such notice to our website. Your continued use of the Services shall be considered your acceptance to the revised Terms of Service. If you do not agree to these Terms of Service, please do not use any of the Services.

The Services are not a forum for public communication and debate, but a means for RIPTA to provide information relating to RIPTA services, programs, objectives, missions, and projects to the public and its customers.

You agree to our use of your personal information and content in accordance with our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated herein by reference. Please note that RIPTA is a public agency and is subject to public records laws.

1. Registration

Your account may be created by you or by an employer, educational institution or other groups. If you are registered with another group, that group may have its own terms that apply to your use of your account. Either way, you are responsible for activity under your account.

You may need to register for an account before using some of the Services. You may create your own account or an account may be assigned to you by an administrator, such as an employer or educational institution. If you are using an account assigned to you by an administrator, different or additional terms may apply and your administrator may be able to access or disable your account.

You are responsible for any activity that occurs under your account. Keep your username and password secure and do not allow anyone else to use them to access the Services. RIPTA is not responsible for any loss that results from the unauthorized use of your username and password, with or without your knowledge.

1. Intellectual Property

Our trademarks, service marks, logos and copyrights belong to RIPTA and cannot be used without our written permission.

All content included on or through the Services, such as text (including social media posts, schedules, arrival information, fare information), graphics (including maps), designs, logos, presentations, videos, data, instructions, photos, and software (the “Materials”), is the property of RIPTA or its licensors. The Materials are protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws.

“Ride The Wave” and other trademarks, service marks, and logos that we use are trademarks of RIPTA. Third-party trademarks that appear in connection with the Services are the property of their respective owners. You may not use any of the trademarks displayed in connection with the Services without the express written permission of RIPTA.

1. Limited License

We are granting you a license to use our Services. This means you can’t sell, reverse engineer, circumvent or collect anything about users or our services that isn’t permitted.

RIPTA grants you a personal, United States, royalty-free, non-assignable, and non-exclusive license to use the Materials provided to you by RIPTA as part of the Services. When a Service requires or includes downloadable software (such as apps), RIPTA grants you a personal, United States, royalty-free, non-assignable, and non-exclusive license to download the software onto your mobile device. These licenses are for the sole purpose of enjoying the Services and are subject to the license restrictions below.

Unless laws prohibit these restrictions or you have our written permission, you may not:

• Copy, modify, distribute, sell, or lease any part of our Services or included software;
• Reverse engineer or attempt to extract the source code of our software;
• Download, print, copy, distribute, or otherwise use Materials for commercial purposes, including commercial publication, sale, or personal gain;
• Use any manual process or robot, spider, scraper, or other automated means to collect information or Materials from the Services or from users of the Services;
• Circumvent any of the technical limitations of the Services or interfere with the Services, including by preventing access to or use of the Services by our other users;
• Change or remove any copyright, trademark, or other proprietary notices, including, without limitation, attribution information, credits, and copyright notices that have been placed on or near the Materials; or
• Impersonate any person or entity or misrepresent yourself or your entity in connection with the Services, or attempt to use another user’s account without the user’s permission.

1. Third-Party Services

Some services may include links to third-party companies. We are not responsible for third-party websites or services.

The Services may contain links to websites, applications, or other products or services operated by other companies (“Third-Party Services”).

All decisions as to the placement of links to external sites or pages from the Services will be made by RIPTA in its sole discretion. RIPTA is not responsible for and does not endorse the content of any third-party website or service. Third-party websites are governed by the separate terms and privacy practices of such third parties. You access such Third-Party Services at your own risk. In the case of third-party apps, we list or link to them merely as a convenience to our users, and RIPTA does not sponsor or endorse these apps. We expressly disclaim any liability for these Third-Party Services.

1. User Content

If you submit any content or feedback to RIPTA, you give us the right to publicly display that feedback. Any content you provide cannot violate the rights of anyone else, and you are responsible for any content you supply. We do not pre-screen content submitted by others, so we cannot guarantee its accuracy. We have no liability for content supplied by other users.

Your feedback and participation are important to us. With respect to any content you submit or make available to RIPTA (including through our “Contact Us” pages and social media channels), such as your biography, comments, suggestions, pictures, videos, and other content, you grant to RIPTA a non-exclusive, perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free, transferable license to use, copy, distribute, publicly display, modify, and create derivative works from such content. The rights you grant in this license are for the limited purpose of operating, promoting, and improving our Services, and to develop new Services. This license continues even if you stop using our Services. The personal information we collect from you is subject to RIPTA’s Privacy Policy.

In the event that you submit or post any creative suggestions, proposals, or ideas about our products and services, you agree that such submissions will be automatically treated as non-confidential and non-proprietary. We may use your feedback without any obligation or credit to you.

1. Content Rules

You represent and warrant that your user content does not and will not violate these Terms of Service or the rights of any third party, including infringing or misappropriating any third-party intellectual property and publicity rights or violating the privacy rights of another person. You are solely responsible for your user content.

2. User Content Is Not Prescreened

We do not prescreen content posted by users and cannot guarantee the Services will be free from content that is inaccurate, deceptive, offensive, defamatory, unlawful, or otherwise objectionable. You acknowledge that we are acting only as a passive channel for such distribution. We have no liability relating to any user content or activities of users through the Services. Even in the event we choose to monitor any user content, we assume no responsibility for, or any obligation to monitor or remove such user content. If you have concerns about any content posted by another user, please contact us at:marketing@ripta.com

1. Links to Our Website

You can link to our website, but we ask that you follow some rules:

• You can’t damage RIPTA’s business goodwill, name or trademarks
• You can’t give anyone the impression that you are affiliated with or endorsed by RIPTA
• We may ask you to post a notice that your site is unofficial and not affiliated with RIPTA

RIPTA permits links from other websites in accordance with the following conditions:

• The appearance, position, and other aspects of the link may not be such as to damage or dilute the goodwill associated with RIPTA’s name and trademarks or be displayed in any manner that is likely to cause confusion among the public or disparage or discredit RIPTA;
• The appearance, position, and other attributes of the link may not create the false impression that an organization or entity is sponsored by, affiliated with, or associated with RIPTA or that views expressed on the website are those of RIPTA. RIPTA reserves the right to require that the linking website include a notice stating that it is an unofficial website and is not endorsed by, sponsored by, or affiliated with RIPTA and that any views expressed on the website are not those of RIPTA.

Termination

We can suspend or terminate your Wave account, delete your user content, or restrict access without notice and without liability to us.

We reserve the right in our sole discretion to (i) suspend or terminate your account, (ii) delete any or all of your user content, (iii) restrict your use of all or any part of the Services, and (iv) modify or discontinue any part of the Services, for any or no reason, without notice, and without liability to you or anyone else. We also reserve the right to block users from accessing the Services by using any technology available, such as blocking certain IP addresses or device numbers. Any accounts suspended may petition RIPTA for reinstatement on a case-by-case basis.

If your Wave card is terminated within five (5) years after your card was purchased or value was added to your card, then the unused balance on your card will be refunded to you.

Your Representations and Warranties

You agree you are at least 13 years of age, have given us accurate information, are eligible to use the services, won’t use them fraudulently and will comply with all laws and terms of service.

You represent and warrant that: (i) you are 13 years of age or older; (ii) you have provided accurate and current information about yourself; (iii) you are eligible to use the Services and have the right and power to enter into these Terms of Service; (iv) you will comply with all federal, state, and local laws; (v) you will not use the Services, directly or indirectly, for any fraudulent undertaking or in any manner that interferes with the operation of the Services; and (vi) you will comply with these Terms of Service.

Warranty Disclaimer

These sections limit our liability. This includes a legal warranty disclaimer, limitation on our liability and an indemnity clause. You should review these limitations.

Although RIPTA strives to provide Materials that are both useful and accurate, the nature of the data and other information available through the Services is subject to frequent change. Accordingly, the Materials may not always be up-to-date, accurate, or complete.

The Services and Materials are provided “as is,” “as available,” and without warranties of any kind. You use the Services and Materials at your own sole risk. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we disclaim all warranties of any kind, whether express, implied, or statutory, including, without limitation, implied warranties of title, quality, performance, merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy, and non-infringement, as well as warranties implied from a course of dealing or course of performance. RIPTA does not warrant that the Services will be continuous, prompt, secure, or error-free. RIPTA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions, including the inaccuracy of content, or for any damages or losses that you or any third party may incur as a result of the unavailability of the Services. RIPTA assumes no responsibility, and shall not be liable for, any damages to your equipment, devices, or other property arising from your use of the Services.

Limitation of Liability; Limitation of Damages

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, RIPTA AND ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, SERVICES PROVIDERS, AND LICENSORS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANYONE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DAMAGES FOR LOST PROFITS, GOODWILL, USE, DATA, OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES (REGARDLESS OF WHETHER WE HAVE BEEN INFORMED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES), HOWEVER, CAUSED, WHETHER BASED ON OR UPON CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY IN TORT, WARRANTY, OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO (i) THE USE OR THE INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICES OR ANY ERRORS, OMISSIONS, OR INACCURACIES IN ANY MATERIALS AVAILABLE THROUGH THE SERVICES; (ii) THE CONDUCT OF OTHER USERS OR THIRD PARTIES; (iii) THE PERFORMANCE OF THE PRODUCTS AND SERVICES PURCHASED THROUGH THE SERVICES; (iv) UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO OR ALTERATION OF YOUR DATA, CONTENT, OR PERSONAL INFORMATION; (v) ANY BUGS VIRUSES, TROJAN HORSES, OR THE LIKE THAT MAY BE TRANSMITTED TO OR THROUGH THE SERVICES; (vi) OR ANY OTHER MATTER RELATING TO THE SERVICES OR ANY PRODUCTS OR SERVICES MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH THE SERVICES.

RIPTA’S SERVICES MAY BE USED BY YOU TO REQUEST AND SCHEDULE TRANSPORTATION OR LOGISTICS SERVICES WITH THIRD-PARTY PROVIDERS. RIPTA HAS NO RESPONSIBILITY OR LIABILITY TO YOU RELATED TO ANY TRANSPORTATION OR LOGISTICS SERVICES PROVIDED TO YOU BY THIRD PARTIES. PLEASE REVIEW THEIR TERMS OF USE AND PRIVACY PRACTICES BEFORE USING THEIR SERVICES.

IN NO EVENT SHALL RIPTA’S TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU IN CONNECTION WITH THE SERVICES FOR ALL DAMAGES, LOSSES, AND CAUSES OF ACTION EXCEED $500.

Applicable law may not allow certain limitations or exclusions of liability, so some of the above limitations may not apply to you.

Indemnity

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless RIPTA and its officers, directors, employees, contractors, agents, licensors, suppliers, successors, and assigns from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, judgments, awards, losses, costs, expenses, or fees (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of or relating to your violation of these Terms of Service or your use of the Services, including, without limitation, your user content or any use of the Materials other than as expressly authorized in these Terms of Service.

Electronic Communications

When you use our services, we will send you emails. You can opt out of most communications. If you sign up for service updates, you agree that we may send you text message updates. You can opt out of these.

By using the Services, you agree to receive certain electronic communications from us, whether through the Services or by email. You may unsubscribe from certain communications at any time by clicking the appropriate link in the communication. You agree that any notice, agreement, disclosure, or other communication that we send you electronically will satisfy any legal communication requirements, including that such communications be in writing. All calls, emails, and other communications between you and RIPTA may be recorded and stored. All such communications from you shall be treated as user content hereunder.

1. Specific Service Terms

The Wave lets you pay for your fare on RIPTA fixed-routes buses.

Wave cards don’t have to be registered, but registration gives you the benefit of certain functions like balance protection and automatic reloading. You can register at wave.ripta.com

While the General Terms above apply to all of RIPTA’s electronic Services, these Specific Service Terms apply to the Services identified below:

1. The Wave Electronic Fare System

The Wave electronic fare system allows you to pay your fare by tapping your Wave card, an organizational identification badge, or scanning your phone on the reader. These terms apply to your use of The Wave card and mobile app.

1. Registration

If you purchase your Wave card at a retail location, no registration is required to redeem the fare or check the balance of the card. However, in order to access and use certain functions of The Wave mobile app, you will need to register an account. You may also register an account through The Wave website at wave.ripta.com. Registration is required if you wish to (i) reload value on your card online or through the mobile app, (ii) protect your card’s balance against loss or theft, or (iii) manage your account.

If you choose to register your Wave card (including cards provided to you by your employer, an educational institution, or other entity), the card’s serial number will be linked to your account. No more than 20 cards may be linked to a single account.

These are details about some of the different options for adding money onto your Wave card, including Auto-Load.

2. Loading Value

You may purchase Wave reloadable smart cards–and add value to the cards–at supermarkets, convenience stores, pharmacies, and other retailers. You select the amount of value to load, which must be an amount between $5.00 and $250.00. After initial purchase, registered users may load additional value (i) via the Wave website or app. Anyone may load additional value by visiting RIPTA’s Kennedy Plaza location or 705 Elmwood Ave. location in Providence, RI.

Wave cards are not, and do not represent, “accounts” or “deposits” and Wave cards are not “money.” They simply represent a prepaid transportation fare. You may not redeem Wave cards for money or any product or service other than the applicable services.

AFTER FIVE (5) YEARS OF NON-USE, YOUR WAVE CARD WILL AUTOMATICALLY EXPIRE, AND THE UNUSED BALANCE WILL BE REMOVED AND RETAINED BY RIPTA. FOR PURPOSES OF THESE TERMS, “USE” OF A WAVE CARD INCLUDES PURCHASING, REDEEMING OR ADDING VALUE TO THE CARD. SALES OF WAVE CARDS ARE FINAL AND NON-REFUNDABLE.

Wave cards are not transferable.

3. Automatic Reloading

You may choose to enable automatic reloading of value to your Wave card by logging into your account, specifying the value to add when the account balance drops below a defined threshold. If you enable automatic reloading, you authorize RIPTA to automatically charge your payment card the amount that you have selected on the schedule you have selected. You may opt out of automatic reloading at any time by changing your account preferences.

You have to tap or scan your Wave card, smartphone or organizational identification card on a reader to redeem your fare.

Any value loaded onto your Wave card is non-refundable.

4. Redeeming Electronic Fares

You can find card readers on board RIPTA buses. To redeem a fare, you may tap either your Wave card or scan your Wave mobile app at the card reader.

If you lose your registered Wave card, let us know right away in order to protect your balance. The balance on unregistered cards is not protected.

5. Lost, Stolen and Damaged Cards

RIPTA expects you to take reasonable precautions to protect against lost, stolen, or damaged cards. However, we recognize that accidents happen. If you have registered your Wave card, you can report your card lost, stolen, or damaged and then RIPTA can transfer your balance from the lost card to a new card you acquire.Unregistered Wave cards do not offer the balance protection that registered Wave cards do.

You are responsible for redeeming your fare and having proper proof of payment. If you don’t have your fare, you are subject to penalties including citation and exclusion.

6. Your Responsibilities

You are solely responsible at all times for proper redemption of fares and maintaining proof of fare payment in accordance with the rules of the applicable transit system. You understand that you will be subject to penalties, including, but not limited to, citation and exclusion, for failure to exhibit proof of fare payment.

1. Online Sales of Paper Tickets

If you purchase and order Wave cards or tickets online, there will be a $4.00 shipping and handling charge. Passes are sent via U.S. Postal Service. We are not responsible for lost orders.

For pick-up orders please allow 48 hours for processing. Fares are non-refundable.

These terms apply to RIPTA’s online sales Wave cards or paper tickets.

1. Shipping Time

Please allow up to 5 to 7 business days for delivery.

2. Pick-Up Orders

Please allow 48 hours for processing when ordering Wave cards or tickets online to be picked up at RITA’s 705 Elmwood Avenue office in Providence, RI.

3. No Refunds

Sorry, fares are non-refundable.

IF ANY PROVISION OF THESE TERMS IS FOUND TO BE INVALID OR UNENFORCEABLE, THEN SUCH PROVISION WILL BE INEFFECTIVE TO THE EXTENT REQUIRED FOR THE REMAINDER OF THESE TERMS TO BE ENFORCEABLE.