Now Live! New Parking Permit Management System
Stanford Transportation has launched a new, streamlined system to purchase parking permits at Stanford. Discover more about parking.stanford.edu.
Stanford Transportation has launched a new, streamlined system to purchase parking permits at Stanford. Discover more about parking.stanford.edu.
Stanford University (“Stanford”) and Stanford Transportation appreciate your interest in the privacy and confidentiality of your information. We take protecting your privacy seriously. Please read the following to learn more about the data management principles we use to manage and safeguard information collected when you participate in Stanford Transportation programs that use License Plate Recognition (LPR) data. LPR data and other key terms referenced in this policy are defined here:
https://transportation.stanford.edu/stanford-transportation-programs-stanford-privacy-policy
As of June 2018, Stanford Transportation transitioned its database to a new parking permit management application, which incorporates license-plate recognition (LPR) technology as its parking enforcement system. With this system, license plates replace physical parking permits for many Stanford affiliates who park at the university and in all parking areas managed by Stanford Transportation. Cameras, which are hand-held, affixed to enforcement vehicles, installed on properties owned or managed by Stanford, record the license plates of vehicles for parking enforcement, parking utilization, and transportation program-related purposes.
While it is legal to record the time and location of a vehicle, we understand that some may have data privacy concerns about LPR systems. To address these concerns, along with the increased attention to data security and privacy, Stanford Transportation developed and is providing its data management principles.
This document presents the set of data management principles Stanford Transportation uses for data produced by its LPR program. The principles are based on Stanford University data management policies and has been informed by LPR data management practices from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP). In addition, our program is consistent with Santa Clara County’s Automated License Plate Recognition Policy and we actively work to abide by Stanford’s Video Surveillance System Guidelines where applicable.
Stanford Transportation will retain license plate and personal data in a secure and private manner, including utilizing cloud infrastructure (such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud Platform).
As with all personally identifiable data at Stanford, data collected through an LPR system will be managed with the appropriate security measures in place. The data will be managed in ways that are consistent with Stanford University’s “High Risk” data classification, including storing data in a system approved by Stanford for this classification.
The “High Risk” data classification specifies that access be limited to those with a need to know. Only the vendor(s) managing the LPR system, Stanford Transportation management, and staff whose work responsibilities includes use of the LPR data will have access to the data.
In addition, there will be strict separation between the license plate data storage and the customer information databases Stanford Transportation operates.
Focused Collection and Use
The enforcement process includes collecting license plate information for vehicles parked in Stanford-enforced parking areas. License plates are publicly available, and scanning can occur in the following ways:
Once collected, LPR records are retained for a limited time, no longer than six (6) months unless longer retention is required due to investigations or legal requirements.
Stanford Transportation will only collect, store, and use LPR data for parking and transportation program-related uses, research, or to comply with University policy or the law. These include, but are not limited to, parking lot utilization patterns, permit usage statistics, traffic studies, trip verification for commute incentive programs, enforcement and enforcement efficiency studies, general permit compliance reviews, management of abandoned vehicles, operational parking communications to vehicles in impacted areas (e.g., construction), and daily vehicle relocation patterns.
All access to the LPR data will require individual logins.
Stanford Transportation uses third-party vendors and IT services for storage and processing of LPR data; for the purposes identified in this document and the Stanford Transportation Program Privacy Policy; and for administration of the Stanford Transportation program. Stanford’s Department of Public Safety and third-party parking management vendors will have limited access to LPR data at the time of issuing a citation, when reviewing a citation appeal, or notice of a parking violation. At the discretion of Stanford Transportation, Stanford Health Care and Stanford Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital may be involved in storing LPR data, collecting LPR data, and administering LPR-based transportation programs.
Stanford Transportation does not sell or license identifiable data to any third parties for any other purpose. Aggregated LPR data (e.g., number of vehicles parked rather than which specific vehicles are parked) may be shared for research and program management purposes.
No other Stanford department will have access to personally identifiable LPR data nor will they receive information about specific individuals for punitive or other purposes. This includes any requests by managers, Human Resources, or other departments to see the parking records of employees.
Aggregated and de-identified LPR data may be shared with Stanford Health Care and Stanford Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital for operational and planning purposes.
Aggregated and de-identified LPR data may be shared with consultants of Stanford Transportation for the sole purpose of planning efforts designated by Stanford Transportation.
LPR data may be collected on University managed or owned streets, parking lots and structures, other Stanford-enforced parking areas, as well as any location associated with a current university lease.
Stanford Transportation is publishing its LPR data management practices and making its approach to LPR available to the public.
Stanford Transportation will maintain a description of its LPR data management practices on its website. The statement will include the data collection, use principles and information about who does and does not have access to the data.
Changes to this Policy
This policy will be updated periodically to reflect any material changes in our programs and practices. These changes will be evident by a new “Last Updated” date (see below) and are effective when they are posted to our website at https://transportation.stanford.edu. Treatment of information we collect now is subject to the version of the policy in effect at the time such information is used.
Stanford Transportation has the discretion to update this policy at any time. We encourage checking this page for any changes to stay informed about how we are helping to protect the LPR information being collected. You acknowledge and agree that it is your responsibility to periodically review this policy. Your use of Stanford’s transportation and parking services following these changes signifies your acceptance of the policy.
Contacting Us
If you would like to send us a request, or if you have any questions or concerns regarding our policy, you may contact us by email at transportation@stanford.edu or call us at 650.723.9362.
Last Updated: 03/14/2022
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