TERMS OF SERVICE
Date of Last Revision: April 19, 2007
Welcome to www.GoLoco.org, a social travel network website that helps eligible users make ridesharing arrangements under the domain name of www.GoLoco.org (the "Site"). The Site is owned and operated by GoLoco, Inc., a Delaware corporation ("GoLoco" or "we"). This Terms of Service (as amended from time to time, this "TOS") sets forth the terms and conditions applicable to your use of the services available under our Site (collectively, the "Services").
Before you ("You" or the "User") become a registered member of GoLoco, you must read and accept all of the terms and provisions contained in this TOS and the Privacy Policy which can be found at the Site's "Privacy Policy." If you do not agree to abide by the terms and conditions of this TOS, please do not register and/or use or access our Services provided on our Site.
1. Registration; Agreement between You and GoLoco; Amendment.
You must register on the Site in order to access and use our Site and Services and shall not register for more than one User account or register for a User account on behalf of an individual other than yourself. Your registering or otherwise accessing and using the Site constitutes your agreement to all terms, conditions and notices set forth in this TOS. We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to amend or modify this TOS at any time without further notice, by posting the most recent version on the Site and by indicating the effective date of the latest revision of the TOS at the beginning of this page. You are responsible for regularly reviewing this TOS, as amended from time to time. Your continued access and use of the Site constitutes your agreement to all such terms, conditions, and notices of this TOS, as so amended and modified.
2. Eligibility.
This Site is intended solely for use by individual users who have attained the age of majority (the "Legal Age") to form a legally binding contract in the applicable jurisdiction(s). By registering on the Site or otherwise accessing and using our Services under the Site, you represent and warrant to us that you have attained the Legal Age in all applicable jurisdictions. GoLoco reserves the right to terminate your membership with or without notice if you are, or we reasonably believe you are, under the Legal Age in any applicable jurisdiction, and to prohibit you from using or accessing the Services.
3. Fees
a. Registration on the Site is free. Listing a ride and/or searching a ride on the Site are also free.
b. If a User who seeks a ride to a certain destination (a "Passenger") and another User who offers to drive to or through that destination (a "Driver") agree to a matching trip through our Services (the "Trip"), the Passenger shall pay a fee to the Driver for transportation services rendered (the "Driver's Fee") and a matching fee (the "Matching Fee") to GoLoco. GoLoco will also charge a processing fee to the Driver (the "Processing Fee"). The Passenger should be required to deposit in advance sufficient funds with GoLoco to cover the Driver's Fee and the Matching Fee. GoLoco may require that such deposits be in minimum increments of $10. The Driver's Fee and the Matching Fee shall be held by GoLoco on behalf of the Driver. If the Trip on the Site is not cancelled either by the Driver or by any of the Passenger(s) prior to the agreed meeting time, the Driver's Fee and the Matching Fee will be released at the meeting time then currently listed on the Site as follows: (i) the Matching Fee and the Processing Fee shall be paid to GoLoco and (ii) the Driver's Fee, minus the Processing Fee, shall be paid and transferred into the Driver's account. The Matching Fee and the Processing Fee are 10% of the Driver's Fee. You are responsible for payment of all Fees arising from your use of our Services and the Site, plus all applicable taxes which may vary by state or jurisdiction.
c. GoLoco shall have no responsibilities to honor any terms with regard to a Trip that are not properly reflected and agreed to on the Site. If there is a change in the terms of any Trip, it shall be the Driver's and the Passengers' responsibilities to cancel such Trip and schedule a new Trip on the Site reflecting such new terms.
d. It is our policy that a Driver should not use his listed vehicle to carry other riders or their property for a profit and that the listed fee(s) to be shared by the riders should reflect the actual expenses reasonably expected to be incurred in a shared ride. We encourage ride posters to refer to the standard mileage rate under the rules of Internal Revenue Services (which rate is 48.5 cents per mile for 2007) in setting their fees. However, we do not control and monitor the setting of any fees listed on the Site and it is the responsibility of each of the riders to communicate, negotiate and agree on a fee-sharing arrangement with the other riders before he or she joins the ride.
e. We may change our fee schedule for our Services from time to time. Our changes are effective immediately after posting the changes to the Site or this TOS.
f. If you do not log in to your account for one year and there is a balance in your account, GoLoco will use its commercially reasonable efforts to refund the balance to you. If your information on record is no longer valid and GoLoco is unable to refund your balance through its standard means of refunding amounts, you agree that GoLoco may thereafter charge you an account maintenance fee at a rate of $5.00 per month.
4. Limited Scope of Services; Rider's Responsibility to Obtain Auto Insurance.
GoLoco merely provides a ride listing and searching service and a limited escrow service for the collection of fees paid to Drivers by Passengers in connection with Trips. We are not otherwise involved in or a party to the actual transaction between Drivers and Passengers. It is your responsibility to communicate, negotiate and reach an agreement with Passengers and Drivers on all terms and conditions of the Trip and you assume all responsibility for any agreement you reach with regard to a Trip. It is the responsibility of Drivers to maintain adequate insurance to cover liability arising out of the ownership and operation of the listed vehicle to be used in a Trip. GoLoco shall have no liability relating to the ownership or operation of any listed vehicle in connection with a Trip or any damages, injury or losses incurred by a party in connection with a Trip or an agreement to make a Trip.
5. No Identity Verification; No Control of Third Party Information
GoLoco cannot and does not investigate or guarantee any user's purported identity, picture, insurance, criminal record or traffic violations record, or the actual existence or identity of any listed vehicle, or its actual condition. Please note that there are also risks of dealing with underage persons or people acting under false pretense.
We do not control or censor the information provided by other users that is made available through our Site. You may find other user's information to be offensive, harmful, inaccurate or deceptive.
Please use caution and common sense when using the Site. By using this Site, you agree to accept all such risks and GoLoco is not responsible for the acts or omissions by you or other users on the Site.
6. Your Information; Representations; Non-Exclusive License
As used in this TOS, the term "Your Information" shall mean any information you provide to us or other users in the registration or listing process, in any public message area (including any feedback or comment area), or through any email or other communication with us or another user. GoLoco is NOT involved in the creation of Your Information but merely acts as a passive conduit for your online distribution and publication of Your Information. You are solely responsible for Your Information and your interaction with other users of the Site.
You represent and warrant to GoLoco that Your Information provided to us in the registration is accurate, current and complete information about you ("Registration Data") and that if you have chosen to post a photo in your profile, the identity of the person shown conspicuously in the photo is you. It is your responsibility to maintain and promptly update the Registration Data. You further represent and warrant to us that Your Information (including any ride information) and your activities on the Site shall not: (a) be fraudulent, false, misleading, or inaccurate; (b) violate or infringe upon the rights of any third party, including copyright, trademark, privacy, publicity or other personal or proprietary rights; (c) be defamatory, trade libelous, unlawfully threatening or unlawfully harassing; and (d) be obscene or contain child pornography.
You agree to grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, sub-licensable (through multiple tiers) right to exercise the copyright, publicity, and database rights you have in Your Information, in any media now known or not currently known, with respect to Your Information. GoLoco will only use Your Information in accordance with our Privacy Policy then in effect.
7. Prohibited Activities
You represent and warrant to GoLoco that you will not engage in any of the following activities with respect to and through your use of the Site and the Services: (a) impersonate any person or entity, or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent yourself, your look, your age or your affiliation with any person or entity; (b) upload, post, transmit, share or otherwise make available any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, solicitations, promotional materials, "junk mail," "spam," "chain letters," "pyramid schemes," or any other form of solicitation; (c) upload, post, transmit, share, store or otherwise make publicly available on the Site any private information of any third party, including, without limitation, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, Social Security numbers and credit card numbers; (d) solicit passwords or personally identifying information for commercial or unlawful purposes; (e) intimidate or harass another; (f) upload, post, transmit, share, store or otherwise make available content that would constitute, encourage or provide instructions for a criminal offense, violate the rights of any party, or that would otherwise create liability or violate any local, state, national or international law; (g) use or attempt to use another's account, service or system without authorization from GoLoco, or create a false identity on the Site; (h) upload, post, transmit, share, store or otherwise make available content that, in the sole judgment of GoLoco, is objectionable or which restricts or inhibits any other person from using or enjoying the Site, or which may expose GoLoco or its Users to any harm or liability of any type; or (i) violate any law of any country, state or jurisdiction.
8. Unlawful Interference with the Site Operation
You agree that you will not (a) take any action that imposes, or may impose, an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on our infrastructure (as determined by us in our sole discretion); (c) upload any information to the Site that may contain any viruses, Trojan horses, worms, time bombs, Easter eggs or other computer programming routines that may damage, detrimentally interfere with, surreptitiously intercept or expropriate any system, data or personal information; (d) use any robot, spider, scraper or other automated means to access the Site for any purpose without our express written permission; or (e) bypass our robot exclusion headers or other measures that we may use to prevent or restrict access to the Site.
9. Links to Other Websites and Content
The Site contains (or you may be sent through the Site or the Services to) links to other Sites ("Third Party Sites") as well as articles, photographs, text, graphics, pictures, designs, music, sound, video, information, software and other content belonging to or originating from third parties (the "Third Party Content"). Such Third Party Sites and Third Party Content are not investigated, monitored or checked for accuracy, appropriateness, or completeness by us, and we are not responsible for any Third Party Sites accessed through the Site or any Third Party Content posted on the Site, including without limitation the content, accuracy, offensiveness, opinions, reliability or policies of or contained in the Third Party Sites or the Third Party Content. Inclusion of or linking to any Third Party Site or any Third Party Content does not imply approval or endorsement thereof by us. If you decide to leave the Site and access the Third Party Sites, you do so at your own risk and you should be aware that our terms and policies no longer govern. You should review the applicable terms and policies, including privacy and data gathering practices, of such Third Party Sites to which you navigate from the our Site.
10. Proprietary Rights in Site Content
All content on the Site, including but not limited to designs, text, graphics, pictures, video, information, software, music, sound and other files, and their selection and arrangement (the "Site Content"), are the proprietary property of GoLoco, its Users or its licensors with all rights reserved. No Site Content may be modified, copied, distributed, framed, reproduced, republished, downloaded, displayed, posted, transmitted, or sold in any form or by any means, in whole or in part, without prior written permission of GoLoco or any appropriate third party, except that the foregoing does not apply to Your Information (as defined above) that you legally post on the Site. Unless explicitly stated herein, nothing in this TOS shall be construed as conferring upon you any license to intellectual property rights, whether by estoppel, implication or otherwise.
11. GoLoco Trademarks
GoLoco, GoLoco's graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, scripts and service names are registered trademarks, trademarks or trade dress of GoLoco in the U.S. and/or other countries. GoLoco's trademarks and trade dress may not be used, including as part of trademarks and/or as part of domain names, in connection with any product or service in any manner that is likely to cause confusion and may not be copied, imitated, or used, in whole or in part, without the prior written permission of GoLoco.
12. Copyright Complaints; Repeat Infringer Policy
In accordance with Section 512(c)(2) of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA"), if you believe that any material on the Site infringes upon any copyright which you own or control, you may send a written notification of such infringement to our Designated Agent as set forth below:
By Mail:
Name of Designated Agent: Robin Chase
Mailing Address: 40 Cottage Street, Cambridge, MA 02139
Facsimile Number: 617 395 2643
By Email:
copyright@goloco.org
We may give notice of a claim of copyright infringement to our User who is the alleged infringer by means of a general notice on the Site, electronic mail to that User's email address on record, or by written communication sent by first-class mail to such User's mailing address on record.
13. Carbon Credits
You agree to assign the rights to any Carbon Credits resulting from any trips arranged using our service to GoLoco.
14. Suspension or Termination
GoLoco reserves the right to immediately limit your activity on the Site, remove your ride listings or ride acceptances, warn our community of your actions, issue a warning to you, or temporarily suspend, indefinitely suspend or terminate your membership and refuse to provide our Services to you for any reason or no reason as determined by GoLoco in our sole discretion, including on account of any of the following: (a) your breach or any of your obligations, representations and warranties under this TOS or any policy or terms that it incorporates by reference; (b) our inability to determine the accuracy of any information you provide to us should we decide at out election (without any obligation) to verify such accuracy; or (c) our belief that your actions may cause damage, loss, harm, injury or liability for you, any user or us.
15. User Disputes; Release
You are solely responsible for your interactions with other GoLoco Users. We reserve the right, but have no obligation, to monitor disputes between you and other Users. In the event that you have a dispute with one or more users, you release GoLoco (and our officers, directors, agents, subsidiaries, affiliates, joint ventures and employees) from claims, demands and damages (actual and consequential) of every kind and nature, known and unknown, suspected and unsuspected, disclosed and undisclosed, arising out of or in any way connected with any such dispute.
16. Privacy
We care about the privacy of our Users. Click privacy to view the Site's Privacy Policy. The Privacy Policy is incorporated into this TOS by reference. You agree to the terms thereof as they may be changed from time to time.
17. Independent Contractor
The relationship between you and GoLoco under this TOS will be that of an independent contractor and neither party shall be considered to be an agent, joint venturer, partner, employee/employer, or franchisor/franchisee of the other party.
18. Disclaimer
GoLoco is not responsible or liable in any manner for Your Information or Third Party Content posted on the Site or in connection with the Services, whether posted or caused by Users of the Site or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Site or the Services. We do not control and are not responsible for what Users post on the Site and are not responsible for any offensive, inappropriate, obscene, unlawful or otherwise objectionable content you may encounter on the Site or in connection with any other User's content or any Third Party Content.
The Site and the Services may be temporarily unavailable from time to time for maintenance or other reasons. GoLoco assumes no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to, or alteration of, User communications. GoLoco is not responsible for any problems or technical malfunction of any telephone network or lines, computer online systems, servers or providers, computer equipment, software, failure of email or players on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any Site or combination thereof, including injury or damage to Users or to any other person's computer related to or resulting from participating or downloading materials in connection with the Web and/or in connection with the Services. Under no circumstances will GoLoco be responsible for any loss or damage, including any loss or damage to any User Content or personal injury or death, resulting from anyone's use of the Site or the Services, any User Content or Third Party Content posted on or through the Site or the Services or transmitted to Users, or any interactions between Users of the Site, whether online or offline.
THE SITE, THE SERVICES AND THE SITE CONTENT ARE PROVIDED "AS-IS" AND GOLOCO DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF TITLE, MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NON-INFRINGEMENT.
YOUR DECISION TO RIDESHARE IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK. NEITHER GOLOCO NOR ANY OF ITS PARTNERS, SPONSORS OR REFERRING ORGANIZATIONS MAKES ANY WARRANTIES OR REPRESENTATIONS AS TO THE QUALITY, SAFETY, SECURITY, RELIABILITY OR TIMELINESS OF ANY TRIPS YOU MAY TAKE OR TRANSPORTATION YOU MAY USE AND ASSUMES NO LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY THEREFOR, OR ANY HARM, INJURY, DAMAGE OR LOSS YOU MAY SUFFER.
NONE OF THE INFORMATION MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH THE SERVICES SHOULD BE INTERPRETED AS TRANSPORTATION ADVICE OR AS AN ENDORSEMENT OF ANY MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION OR OF ANY USER OF GOLOCO. YOU BEAR SOLE RESPONSIBILITY FOR ALL DECISIONS AND RESULTS BASED ON YOUR USE OR RELIANCE ON SUCH INFORMATION.
GOLOCO CANNOT GUARANTEE AND DOES NOT PROMISE ANY SPECIFIC RESULTS FROM USE OF THE SITE AND/OR THE SERVICES. GOLOCO DOES NOT REPRESENT OR WARRANT THAT CONTENT OR MATERIALS ON THE SITE ARE ACCURATE, COMPLETE, RELIABLE, CURRENT OR ERROR-FREE.
Except as otherwise provided under Section 1 hereof, GoLoco reserves the right to change any and all content contained in the Site and any Services offered through the Site at any time without notice. Reference to any products, services, processes or other information, by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, supplier or otherwise does not constitute or imply endorsement, sponsorship or recommendation thereof, or any affiliation therewith, by GoLoco.
19. Limitation on Liability
EXCEPT IN JURISDICTIONS WHERE SUCH PROVISIONS ARE RESTRICTED, IN NO EVENT WILL GOLOCO OR ITS DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES OR AGENTS BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PERSON FOR ANY INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING FOR ANY LOST PROFITS OR LOST DATA ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF THE SITE OR THE SERVICES OR ANY OF THE SITE CONTENT OR OTHER MATERIALS ON OR ACCESSED THROUGH THE SITE, EVEN IF GOLOCO IS AWARE OR HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. NOTWITHSTANDING ANYTHING TO THE CONTRARY CONTAINED HEREIN, GOLOCO'S LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ANY CAUSE WHATSOEVER, AND REGARDLESS OF THE FORM OF THE ACTION, WILL AT ALL TIMES BE LIMITED TO THE AMOUNT PAID, IF ANY, BY YOU TO GOLOCO FOR THE SERVICES. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT IF NO FEES ARE PAID TO GOLOCO FOR THE SERVICES, YOU SHALL BE LIMITED TO INJUNCTIVE RELIEF ONLY, UNLESS OTHERWISE PERMITTED BY LAW, AND SHALL NOT BE ENTITLED TO DAMAGES OF ANY KIND FROM GOLOCO, REGARDLESS OF THE CAUSE OF ACTION.
CERTAIN STATE LAWS DO NOT ALLOW LIMITATIONS ON IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF CERTAIN DAMAGES. IF THESE LAWS APPLY TO YOU, SOME OR ALL OF THE ABOVE DISCLAIMERS, EXCLUSIONS OR LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU, AND YOU MAY HAVE ADDITIONAL RIGHTS.
20. Indemnity
You agree to release GoLoco, its subsidiaries and affiliates, and each of their directors, officers, agents, contractors, partners and employees (collectively, the "Indemnified Parties") from all claims and obligations and to indemnify and hold the Indemnified Parties harmless from and against any loss, liability, claim, demand, damages, costs and expenses, including reasonable attorney's fees, arising out of or in connection with Your Information, any Third Party Content you post or share on or through the Site, your use of the Services or the Site, your conduct in connection with the Services or the Site or with other Users of the Services or the Site, or any violation of this TOS or of any law or the rights of any third party.
21. Governing Law; Venue and Jurisdiction
This TOS shall be construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, without giving effect to conflicts of laws principles. With respect to any disputes or claims not subject to arbitration as set forth in Section 22, if any, you agree not to commence or prosecute any action in connection therewith other than in the state and federal courts of Massachusetts, and you hereby consent to, and waive all defenses of lack of personal jurisdiction and forum non conveniens with respect to, venue and jurisdiction in the state and federal courts of Massachusetts.
22. Arbitration
YOU AND GOLOCO AGREE THAT THE SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE FORUM AND REMEDY FOR ANY AND ALL DISPUTES AND CLAIMS RELATING IN ANY WAY TO OR ARISING OUT OF THIS TOS, THE SITE AND/OR THE SERVICES (INCLUDING YOUR VISIT TO OR USE OF THE SITE AND/OR THE SERVICES) SHALL BE FINAL AND BINDING ARBITRATION, except that, to the extent that either of us has in any manner infringed upon or violated or threatened to infringe upon or violate the other party's patent, copyright, trademark or trade secret rights, such other party may seek injunctive or other appropriate relief.
Arbitration under this Agreement shall be conducted by the American Arbitration Association (the "AAA") under its Commercial Arbitration Rules (the "AAA Rules"). The location of the arbitration and the allocation of costs and fees for such arbitration shall be determined in accordance with such AAA Rules. The arbitrator's award shall be binding and may be entered as a judgment in any court of competent jurisdiction.
23. Submissions
You acknowledge and agree that any questions, comments, suggestions, ideas, feedback or other information about the Site or the Services ("Submissions") provided by you to GoLoco are non-confidential and shall become the sole property of GoLoco. GoLoco shall own exclusive rights, including all intellectual property rights, and shall be entitled to the unrestricted use and dissemination of these Submissions for any purpose, commercial or otherwise, without acknowledgment or compensation to you.
24. Miscellaneous
This TOS, together with the Privacy Policy which is incorporated into this TOS by reference, constitute the entire agreement between you and GoLoco regarding the use of the Site and/or the Services, superseding any prior agreements between you and GoLoco relating to your use of the Site or the Services. The failure of GoLoco to exercise or enforce any right or provision of this TOS or the Privacy Policy shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision in that or any other instance. If any provision of this TOS is held invalid, the remainder of this TOS shall continue in full force and effect. If any provision of this TOS shall be deemed unlawful, void or for any reason unenforceable, then that provision shall be deemed severable from this TOS and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions.