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Public transport privacy notice

We keep this privacy notice under regular review and it was last updated on 3 September 2024.

Kent County Council respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal data. This privacy notice will inform you as to how we look after your personal data and tell you about your privacy rights and how the law protects you.

Who we are

Kent County Council (KCC) collects, uses and is responsible for certain personal information about you. When we do so we are regulated under the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation (‘UK GDPR’) and the Data Protection Act 2018 and we are responsible as ‘controller’ of that personal information for the purposes of those laws. Our Data Protection Officer is Benjamin Watts.

Personal information we collect and use

Information collected by us

In the course of enabling access to transport schemes we may collect the following personal information when you provide it to us:

  • name
  • address
  • contact details
  • a photograph
  • details of any additional needs you may have or other information needed to ensure the service we provide is appropriate for you
  • financial information (if you need to make a payment for the service to be provided)

We also obtain personal information from the following other sources:

  • other KCC departments
  • educational establishments and/or care providers

How we use your personal information

We use your personal information to:

  • facilitate necessary transport arrangements
  • produce or replace travel passes
  • accept payment in respect of fees and charges
  • data may be processed automatically, for example when you submit an application via the internet and when a travel pass is manufactured
  • contact you regarding an enquiry or complaint
  • contact you regarding a change in service or inform you of a new service relevant to you.

How long your personal data will be kept

We will hold your personal information for the period in which travel or benefit is being provided plus 1 year or in accordance with our published retention schedule

Reasons we can collect and use your personal information

We rely on the public task and that the individual has given clear consent for us to process their personal data for a specific purpose as the lawful basis on which we collect and use your personal data.

We rely on the public task and that the individual has given clear consent for us to process their sensitive personal data for one or more specified purposes as the lawful basis on which we collect and use your special categories of personal data.

The provision of personal and/or sensitive personal data is required from you to enable us to facilitate your access to the scheme(s)

As we have a statutory and / or contractual basis for collecting your personal data if you do not provide the personal information required as identified then you will be unable to access the scheme(s).

Who we share your personal information with

We routinely share:

  • personal data where it is necessary to make appropriate travel arrangements or to enable access to schemes / benefits such as through the production of travel passes
  • sensitive personal data where it is necessary to ensure that the transport provided meets your particular needs

This information would be shared with:

  • transport providers
  • third party travel card manufacturers
  • educational establishments and/or care providers

This data sharing enables appropriate travel arrangements to be made. For a list of our third party suppliers please email public.transport@kent.gov.uk quoting a GDPR request. We will share personal information with law enforcement or other authorities if required by applicable law.

We have a data processing agreement in place with transport providers, third party travel card manufacturers and educational establishments and/or care providers, who process your data on our behalf.

We will share personal information with our legal and professional advisers in the event of a dispute, complaint or claim. We rely on Article 9(2)(f) where the processing of special category data is necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims or whenever courts are acting in their judicial capacity.

We will share your personal data with the Kent Intelligence Network (KIN) to detect, prevent and deter fraud and corruption affecting Kent authorities’ public services.  View the KIN privacy notice for more information.

Your rights

Under UK GDPR you have rights which you can exercise free of charge which allow you to:

  • know what we are doing with your information and why we are doing it
  • ask to see what information we hold about you (subject access request)
  • ask us to correct any mistakes in the information we hold about you
  • object to direct marketing
  • make a complaint to the Information Commissioners Office
  • withdraw consent at any time (if applicable)

Depending on our reason for using your information you may also be entitled to:

  • ask us to delete information we hold about you
  • have your information transferred electronically to yourself or to another organisation
  • object to decisions being made that significantly affect you
  • object to how we are using your information
  • stop us using your information in certain ways

We will always seek to comply with your request however we may be required to hold or use your information to comply with legal duties. Please note, your request may delay or prevent us delivering a service to you.

For further information about your rights, including the circumstances in which they apply, see the guidance from the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) on individuals’ rights under United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation.

If you would like to exercise a right, please contact the Information Resilience and Transparency Team at data.protection@kent.gov.uk.

Keeping your personal information secure

We have appropriate security measures in place to prevent personal information from being accidentally lost, or used or accessed in an unauthorised way. We limit access to your personal information to those who have a genuine business need to know it. Those processing your information will do so only in an authorised manner and are subject to a duty of confidentiality.

We also have procedures in place to deal with any suspected data security breach. We will notify you and any applicable regulator of a suspected data security breach where we are legally required to do so.

Contact

Please contact the Information Resilience and Transparency Team at data.protection@kent.gov.uk to exercise any of your rights, or if you have a complaint about why your information has been collected, how it has been used or how long we have kept it for.

You can contact our Data Protection Officer, Benjamin Watts, at dpo@kent.gov.uk.

The United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation also gives you the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner who may be contacted on 03031 231113.

For further information, read our privacy statement.