Privacy & POPIA Policy

RouteMate SA (Pty) Ltd operates the RouteMate SA platform, a lift-club service that connects verified drivers and riders travelling the same commuting routes in South Africa.

For the purposes of the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPIA), RouteMate SA is the responsible party for the personal information processed through this website.

Account details: your name, email address, mobile number and password when you register as a rider or driver.

Trip details: pickup and drop-off addresses and their coordinates, travel days, and booking history.

Driver verification information: ID or passport, driving licence and vehicle details, plus identity verification results. These are used for identity, licence and vehicle checks.

Payment information: payments are processed by Paystack (cards) and Ozow (instant EFT). RouteMate SA never stores your card or bank account numbers — we keep only payment references, amounts and statuses. Driver banking details for payouts are stored in a separate, access-controlled table visible only to the driver and platform administrators.

Support communications: messages you send us through the support desk, email or WhatsApp.

To create and manage your account and match riders with drivers on compatible routes.

To process bookings, payments, refunds, commissions and monthly driver payouts.

To verify drivers and their vehicles before a route goes live.

To send booking, payment and trip notifications by email and WhatsApp.

To meet our legal, tax and accounting obligations.

We do not sell your personal information to anyone, and we do not use it for unrelated marketing.

Between rider and driver: contact details (phone number and WhatsApp) are shared only after a rider has paid for a seat, so the trip can be coordinated. Before payment, identities stay private.

Payment processors: Paystack and Ozow receive the information needed to process your payment securely.

Service providers: hosting, email delivery, mapping and identity-verification providers who process data on our instructions under confidentiality obligations.

Authorities: where the law requires it, or to protect the rights and safety of our members.

Access to personal information is restricted by row-level security in our database — members can only ever see their own records.

Driver documents and banking details are stored separately and are accessible only to the driver concerned and authorised administrators.

All traffic between your browser and RouteMate SA is encrypted in transit (HTTPS).

Ratings between members are anonymous and private — no names are attached to star ratings.

We keep account and trip records while your account is active. Financial records are retained for the period required by South African tax law. When information is no longer needed, it is deleted or de-identified.

You can close your profile at any time from your Account page. Closing hides your profile, routes and listings from other users and signs you out. As permitted by section 14 of POPIA, we keep your account, identity, booking, payment, rating and any suspension records after closure for legal, tax and fraud-prevention purposes — including recognising a returning person by their email address, ID or passport number or cellphone number so that a suspended account cannot be bypassed. These records are never shown to other users. If you return, you can reopen the same profile by resetting your password.

You may ask us what personal information we hold about you, ask us to correct or delete it, object to certain processing, or withdraw consent where processing is based on consent.

You may also complain to the Information Regulator (South Africa) if you believe your information has been handled unlawfully: enquiries@inforegulator.org.za.

RouteMate SA does not use tracking or advertising cookies. The only cookie stored is a small interface preference (whether the side menu is open). Sign-in sessions are handled securely without marketing cookies. See our Cookie & Tracking Policy for full details.

If we change how we handle personal information, we will update this page. Material changes will be announced by email or an in-app notice.