SmartLink Program
SmartLinkSM Program
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Effective: May 30, 2008
These terms and conditions, together with your SmartLinkSM Program application, constitute your SmartLinkSM Agreement ("Agreement with Port Authority Trans-Hudson Corporation ("PATH Corporation" or "PATH"). The term "PATH" includes The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (the "Port Authority"), and may also include other wholly owned entities of the Port Authority. Use of a SmartLinkSM Card ("Card") as described herein constitutes acceptance of all terms and conditions contained in this Agreement. Please read these terms and conditions and keep a copy of this Agreement, which is subject to change by PATH from time to time, for your records.
- SmartLinkSM Card Use
SmartLinkSM Cards are reusable fare media, and may be filled or refilled with trips or with days of unlimited use on PATH Corporation’s rail transit system, utilizing PATH Ticket Vending Machines located in PATH stations or using the SmartLinkSM website. All PATH Ticket Vending Machines accept credit cards or debit cards, and many accept cash.
Value carried on a SmartLinkSM Card is represented as a specific number of trips or days of unlimited use on the PATH system, in accordance with the fares established by PATH from time to time (see: PATH Fares). Each time a SmartLinkSM Card containing trips is used for entry into the PATH system, one trip will be deducted from the card. When a card has a pass with days of unlimited use, the first day of use will start the period of the pass validity. Each SmartLinkSM Card may be filled or refilled repeatedly, so long as it is kept in good condition.
Each SmartLinkSM Card contains sensitive electronics and an antenna and must not be bent, perforated, cut, punched, subjected to extreme temperatures, or otherwise mutilated, as doing so may damage these components and render the card inoperable.
A SmartLinkSM Card that has not been damaged and becomes inoperable within 90 days of issuance due to a manufacturer’s defect will be replaced by PATH at no charge to you upon presentation to PATH. In addition, the trips or days of unlimited use remaining on the malfunctioning card may be transferred to the replacement SmartLinkSM Card, if the malfunctioning SmartLinkSM Card can be identified by the serial number imprinted on the card. In some instances, PATH may elect to replace unused trips or days of unlimited use on a malfunctioning card by other fare media. Determination that a malfunction is due to a manufacturer’s defect shall be made solely by PATH, and such determination is final and uncontestable.
In accordance with Section 4 of this Agreement, you must surrender a SmartLinkSM Card upon request by PATH.
PATH reserves the right to impose a charge for new and replacement SmartLinkSM Cards (see Section 14 of this Agreement), and to revise such charges from time to time. Such charges, and value on Cards, are not refundable. - YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT NEITHER THE PORT AUTHORITY NOR PATH CORPORATION HAS MADE, AND THEY EACH EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM, ANY REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, RELATING TO SMARTLINKSM CARDS INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY IMPLIED OR EXPRESS WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR CONFORMITY TO MODELS OR SAMPLES. NEITHER THE PORT AUTHORITY NOR PATH CORPORATION, NOR THE COMMISSIONERS, DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS OR REPRESENTATIVES OF THE PORT AUTHORITY OR PATH CORPORATION, NOR THEIR CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH THE PROVISION OF THE SMARTLINKSM PROGRAM (IF ANY), SHALL BE LIABLE TO YOU OR OTHERS FOR LOSS OR DAMAGES OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY DIRECT DAMAGES OR ANY SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL OR INDIRECT DAMAGES OR ANY CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, ARISING OUT OF YOUR USE OR THE PERFORMANCE OF OR YOUR RELIANCE UPON THE SMARTLINKSM CARD. YOU AGREE TO INDEMNIFY AND HOLD HARMLESS THE PORT AUTHORITY AND PATH CORPORATION FROM AND AGAINST ALL DAMAGE, LOSS, COST, EXPENSE, OR LIABILITY RELATING TO, ARISING FROM, OR AS A RESULT OF, THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THE SMARTLINKSM CARD.
- PATH Senior SmartLinkSM Card Program
PATH riders age 65 and over may apply for a Senior SmartLinkSM Card for use in entering the PATH system at a discounted fare by submitting to the PATH SmartLinkSM Service Center at the address set forth in Section 13 of this Agreement, a properly completed Senior SmartLinkSM Card Application form. Upon approval, each participant will receive a Senior SmartLinkSM Card, "personalized" with name and photograph and will automatically receive registration benefits, as described in Section 6 of this Agreement. - Violations
Failure to comply with this Agreement or the Rules, and Regulations of the Port Authority Trans-Hudson System may result in forfeiture of the SmartLinkSM Card or termination of your eligibility to request and use a card.
PATH may revoke your right to use, and it may block the use of, a SmartLinkSM Card at any time should it determine, in its sole discretion, that your card has been misused, whether or not such misuse is defined in this Agreement.
You may not tamper with, attempt to reverse-engineer, duplicate, or decrypt the electronics, programs, and/or other data contained on the SmartLinkSM Card. In addition to the sanctions provided in this Agreement, anyone found to be attempting such activities may be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
If you have or use a "personalized" SmartLinkSM Card, which includes your name and/or photograph on the back of the card, you may not assign the obligations or benefits of this Agreement nor may you assign the use of the SmartLinkSM Card to anyone else. If you use, or allow the use of, that SmartLinkSM Card to provide entry into the PATH system or to provide fare payment for an individual other than yourself, you may be asked by PATH to surrender the card, and the benefits associated with that card, and any remaining trips on that card will be forfeited. Such misuse may also result in revocation of your account, as well as other civil and/or criminal penalties.
In addition, you shall not apply for or use more than one personalized SmartLinkSM Card unless you are applying for or using a replacement card in accordance with the procedures set forth in this Agreement. The rights of PATH and the penalties set forth in this Section shall also apply in the event that this limitation is violated. - Disputes
You hereby authorize the Port Authority or PATH Corporation to decide in the first instance every question or dispute arising from, under, in connection with, or related to this Agreement, including, without limitation, the imposition of fares, fees, or other charges incurred, applied, or stated for the use or misuse of your SmartLinkSM Card or for the SmartLinkSM Replenishment service. All disputes must be submitted in writing to PATH Corporation at the appropriate address given in Section 13 of this Agreement within 60 days of notice to you that a fare, fee, or other charge has been made. You agree that mailing or emailing to an address that you have provided to the Port Authority or PATH Corporation constitutes notice to you of the fares, fees, or other charges contained therein and of any determination by the Port Authority or PATH Corporation in connection with your dispute.
You hereby acknowledge that any claim, action, or proceeding arising from, under, in connection with, or in any way related to this Agreement or your use of the SmartLinkSM Card or the SmartLinkSM Replenishment service for the payment of fares, including the imposition of fares, fees, or other charges incurred, applied, or stated for the use or misuse of the Card, brought against the Port Authority or PATH Corporation is subject to the laws of the States of New York and New Jersey governing suits against the Port Authority (McKinney’s Unconsolidated Laws, Sections 7101 through 7136; New Jersey Statutes Annotated, Sections 32:1-157 through 32:1-176).
You agree to pay all costs, including attorney’s fees, incurred by the Port Authority and PATH Corporation to collect any monies due under the terms of this Agreement. - SmartLinkSM Card Registration
You may register your SmartLinkSM Card for protection against loss, theft, or damage of the card to the extent provided for in this Agreement. Registration may enable you to utilize other services and features that may become available in the future. You may register a SmartLinkSM Card by submitting a signed SmartLinkSM Application Form with the card registration request information properly completed, to the address given in Section 13 of this Agreement. Alternatively, you can register your card through the SmartLinkSM website.
If a registered Card is lost, stolen, or damaged, and you wish to request a replacement for the Card and transfer of the unused trips remaining on the Card, you must notify PATH at the phone number or appropriate address given in Section 13 of this Agreement, or request a replacement card through the SmartLinkSM website.
A registered SmartLinkSM Card that is properly reported as lost, stolen, or damaged will be replaced for a replacement cost as detailed in Section 14 of this Agreement, and the balance of trips or days of unlimited use remaining on the card (as of the date of notice to PATH) will be transferred to the new SmartLinkSM Card. In some instances, PATH may elect to replace unused trips or days of unlimited use by other fare media. However, PATH shall not be obligated to provide cash refunds, nor to transfer unused trips or days of unlimited use remaining on a SmartLinkSM Card that has not been used within the PATH system during the immediately preceding 24 months. This applies to all registered cards, including Senior SmartLinkSM Cards.
- PATH may change this Agreement and these terms and conditions at any time. Changes to these terms and conditions will be posted on PATH’s Web site (www.panynj.gov/path) at least 30 days before they are to become effective. Such modified terms supersede any prior versions or collateral understanding, verbal or written, that you may have received relative to the SmartLinkSM Program or the SmartLinkSM Replenishment service.
- If any part of this Agreement is determined to be unenforceable or invalid for any reason, such portion shall be interpreted in a manner that is consistent with applicable law and the intent of the parties, and the remaining portions shall remain in full force and effect.
- This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, excluding its conflict of law rules.
- No failure or delay by PATH in exercising any right, power, or privilege hereunder shall operate as a waiver thereof, nor shall any single or partial exercise thereof preclude any other or further exercise thereof or the exercise of any right, power, or privilege hereunder.
- The Port Authority is the sole owner of information collected through the SmartLinkSM Program and the SmartLinkSM Replenishment service. You have no ownership interest in or property rights to the information collected or provided.
- The Port Authority and PATH respect the privacy of our customers. Personal information obtained in connection with the SmartLinkSM Program and the SmartLink SM Replenishment service, the use of credit or debit cards, the use of SmartLink SM Cards or this Website will not be disclosed to third parties without your consent except as permissible by law and the policies of the Port Authority. Any of these activities may be administered, operated, and maintained by the Port Authority or PATH Corporation or for the Port Authority or PATH Corporation by contractors. Your personal information may, however, be shared with the following:
o Employees, contractors, subcontractors and agents of the Port Authority or PATH Corporation (which includes, without limitation, those who may be involved in the operation of the SmartLinkSM Program and the SmartLinkSM Replenishment service), pursuant to Port Authority policies and procedures; and
o Other governmental agencies for public safety, law enforcement or regulatory and/or investigatory purposes.
Please be aware that in certain cases we may determine that we have an obligation to share your personal information. Instances in which we may make such a determination include, without limitation, the following:
o Compliance with a court order; and
o Compliance with the Port Authority’s policy on Freedom of Information.
- Inquiries and Correspondence
Please send all correspondence to:
Port Authority Trans-Hudson Corporation
PATH SmartLinkSM Service Center
P.O. Box 6300
Jersey City, NJ 07306
Or call: 1-800-234-PATH (7284)
For information on the Port Authority’s policy on Freedom of Information:
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
FOI Administrator
Office of the Secretary
225 Park Avenue South - 17th Floor
New York, NY 10003 - Schedule of Fees
New or replacement SmartLinkSM Card: $ 5.00
Returned check fee: $ 25.00
In connection with the SmartLinkSM Program and the SmartLinkSM Replenishment service, the Port Authority and PATH Corporation reserve the right to assess additional fees, to revise these fees from time to time, or to waive any such fees.