Terms & Conditions

1. Who we are and what Yapalift is

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] Yapalift is a website and mobile application (the Platform) run by Colleen Doherty, a sole trader, trading as Yapalift (registered business name no. 793424), Ireland (“we”, “us”). Contact details are in section 20.

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] Yapalift is a matching service. It introduces people who want to share a journey. Its purpose is to introduce them. It does not take part in the journey. In particular, Yapalift is:

• not a transport provider. We do not drive, supervise or control any journey. We do not own, operate, maintain or inspect any vehicle, and we are not a carrier;
• not a taxi, hackney or hire-and-reward service (section 8);
• not an insurer. We do not provide or arrange insurance for any journey (section 14);
• not an employer or agent of any Member. A Driver is not our employee, worker or agent, and a Passenger is not our customer for transport.

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] Every journey is an arrangement between the Members involved. Yapalift is not a party to it. By creating an account, continuing with Google, or requesting a seat, you confirm that you have read these Terms and agree to be bound by them.

2. Definitions

3. Eligibility, your account and accepting these Terms

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] You must be 18 or over to use the Platform. Registration by a minor is prohibited. By signing up you confirm that you are 18 or older.

You may browse published Rides without an Account. You cannot publish a Ride or request a Seat without creating one.

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] Accepting these Terms. When you sign up you must tick a box to say that you accept these Terms and the Privacy Policy. (If you continue with Google, or you joined before we asked, you are asked the same question before you can request a Seat, use your Account page, finish onboarding, become a Driver or publish a Ride, and in the mobile app before you can use the main screens.) We store which version of each document you accepted, and when, against your Account. If we change these Terms in a way that matters (section 18) we will ask you to accept the new version.

You can create an Account with your name, an email address and a password, or by connecting a Google account. Where you use Google, your name, email address and profile picture are shared with us; how we handle them is set out in our Privacy Policy and in Google’s own policy.

You agree to give accurate, truthful information and to keep it up to date. You must keep your password confidential and tell us without delay if you believe it has been compromised. You are responsible for activity on your Account until you notify us. You may hold only one Account, in your own name.

3.1 Your profile photo

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] Before you can request a Seat or publish a Ride you must add a profile photo. It must be a clear, recent photo of your own face, alone, in which your face is not hidden (no sunglasses, mask or hat covering it). It must not be a logo, avatar, drawing, group photo, photo of a child or another person, or anything else. Signed-in Members can see your photo (section 6.1). We do not check that the photo is you; our only checks are in section 4. If a photo does not follow this section we may ask you to replace it or remove it, and until it is replaced you cannot request a Seat or publish a Ride.

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] Proof of residence. You may upload a proof of residence on your Profile (section 4.2). At the date of this version it is optional. We will only make it a requirement after giving Members at least 30 days’ notice on the Platform. Once we have switched it on, you will need an approved proof of residence, as well as the profile photo and the Checks in section 4, before you can request a Seat or publish a Ride.

4. Checks: what they are, and what they are not

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] Yapalift carries out three checks, and only three:

• An identity check with Stripe Identity (everyone). You photograph a government-issued photo ID and take a live selfie on Stripe’s own screens, and Stripe tells us whether the face matches the ID. Images are captured live; uploads from a photo library are not accepted. A Passenger may use a driving licence, passport or national ID card. A Driver may use only a driving licence. We receive the result and its date, not your photos; Stripe keeps its own copy under its own privacy policy.
• A review of a Driver’s motor insurance document (Drivers), described in section 4.1.
• A review of a proof of residence (Members), described in section 4.2: a utility or phone bill, reviewed only to confirm the address.

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] We do not carry out criminal background checks, Garda vetting, checks of anyone’s driving history or licence record, checks of a car’s condition, NCT or tax, or checks that a profile photo is of you. We do not check where anyone lives, except that, if you upload a utility or phone bill, we review it only to confirm the address on it (section 4.2). We do not contact insurers. Nothing on the Platform should be read as saying otherwise.

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] A Check is not a guarantee. Where the Platform shows “ID checked”, “Insurance reviewed” or “Address checked”, it means only that the Member completed that Check at that time. It is not a guarantee, warranty or promise by Yapalift about a Member’s identity, safety, conduct, honesty, driving ability, licence, vehicle or insurance cover. You must use your own judgement about who you travel with and who you let travel with you.

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] If a Check cannot be completed — for example because a live face capture cannot be matched to the document — you will not be able to publish a Ride or request a Seat until it is completed. You may try again, up to three times in any 24 hours (each attempt costs us money, so after the third you will be asked to wait or to contact us), and you may contact us (section 20) if you need help or want a person to look at the result. We can reset a failed Check so that you can try again, but we can never mark a Member as ID checked ourselves: only a passed Stripe Identity check does that. We may restrict or suspend an Account under section 13. Stripe Identity involves biometric data. It needs your explicit consent, and without that consent your account cannot request seats or publish rides (the Privacy Policy, section 3, explains how it works).

4.1 Insurance document: your declarations, and what our review means

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] A Driver may be asked to upload their motor insurance document on their Profile, with the car’s registration plate, the insurer’s name and the policy expiry date. To upload, you must tick two declarations, which read exactly:

1. “I confirm this is a genuine, current motor insurance document for the vehicle with the registration above, that I am the policyholder or a named driver on it, and that I will only use this vehicle for journeys on Yapalift. I understand that giving false information can lead to my account being closed.”
2. “I have told my insurer that I may carry passengers on shared journeys arranged through Yapalift.”

We record the exact wording you saw, the time you accepted each, and your Account. Giving false information can lead to your Account being closed under section 13.

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] What our review is. We look at the document and approve or reject it; if we reject it, we tell you why and you can upload again. While a document is approved and has not expired, other Members can see that your insurance document has been reviewed (shown as “Insurance reviewed”); they cannot see the document, your plate, your insurer or the expiry date. When the policy expiry date passes, the status becomes Expired and you must upload a current document before you can publish a Ride, where we require it.

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] What our review is not. A review is not a guarantee, warranty or promise that the policy is valid, that it covers carrying passengers, that it covers any particular journey, or that a claim will be paid. We do not contact insurers or check the document against any register, and we cannot tell whether a document has been altered. You remain responsible, under section 5, for having valid insurance that covers your use of the vehicle and for telling your insurer. A Passenger who relies on the words “Insurance reviewed” does so at their own risk and may ask the Driver to show their policy.

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] How long we keep it. We delete the uploaded file 30 days after we approve or reject it. We keep the status, the expiry date, who reviewed it and when, and the record of your declarations while your Account is open. See our Privacy Policy.

4.2 Proof of residence: your declarations, and what our review means

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] A Member may upload a proof of residence on their Profile. It must be an electricity, gas, water, broadband, landline phone or mobile phone bill, dated within the last 3 months, as a PDF, JPG or PNG of up to 10 MB. We do not accept bank, card or credit statements. The name on the bill must match your Account. Hide account numbers, amounts, call lists and anything else except your name, address, date and the company. To upload, you must tick two declarations, which read exactly:

1. “This is my own genuine bill, not edited.”
2. “I have hidden everything except my name, address, date and the company.”

We record the exact wording you saw, the time you accepted each, and your Account. Giving false information, or uploading an edited bill, can lead to your Account being closed under section 13.

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] What our review is. We look at the bill and approve or reject it; if we reject it, we tell you why and you can upload again. If you have no bill in your name, email us (section 20) and we may approve a different proof, such as a lease or a letter from your landlord, and we will record that we did and why. While a proof is approved, other Members can see that your address has been checked (shown as “Address checked”); they cannot see the bill, your address or anything on it. We review the document by eye. We do not read it automatically, and we do not run face recognition or any image analysis on it.

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] What our review is not. A review is not a guarantee, warranty or promise that you live at the address, that the bill is genuine, or that you are who you say you are. We do not contact the company that issued the bill, and we cannot tell whether a bill has been altered. A Member who relies on the words “Address checked” does so at their own risk.

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] How long we keep it. We delete the uploaded file 7 days after we approve or reject it. We keep the status, the kind of bill, the date on it, who reviewed it and when, our reason, and the record of your declarations while your Account is open. Only Yapalift can open the file. See our Privacy Policy.

5. Drivers: your duties

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] If you publish a Ride, you confirm and promise that, throughout the Ride:

• you are 18 or over and hold a full, valid driving licence for the vehicle you are driving;
• the vehicle has valid motor insurance that covers its use for the Ride, including carrying passengers, and you have told your insurer that you may carry passengers on shared journeys arranged through Yapalift;
• the vehicle is correctly taxed, holds a current NCT certificate where one is required, and is roadworthy;
• you own the vehicle or have the owner’s express permission to use it for the Ride, and you are its main driver for the Ride;
• the vehicle is a passenger car, each Seat offered has a working seatbelt, and you offer no more Seats than it lawfully has;
• you have no medical condition that stops you driving, and you will not drive under the influence of alcohol, drugs or anything else affecting your driving;
• you are acting as a private individual and not in the course of a business;
• you will keep your documents valid and up to date, and give true information on the Platform and in the insurance declarations (section 4.1);
• you will carry out the journey as described, or cancel it as early as you can (section 9).

You are solely responsible for the accuracy of your Ride listing. We may decline to publish, or remove, any listing that breaches these Terms.

Intermediate stops and Segments

When publishing a Ride you may add stopping points along your route. Passengers may then request a Segment rather than the whole journey, joining and leaving at those points.

5.1 Documents you must hold, and show if asked

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] You must hold your driving licence, the vehicle registration certificate, your certificate of motor insurance and, where one is required, an NCT certificate, and you agree to show them promptly if Yapalift or a Passenger on your Ride asks to see them, for example when you meet. Apart from the motor insurance document in section 4.1, the Platform does not provide a way to upload these documents and Yapalift does not keep copies of them. Failure to show them when asked is grounds for suspension under section 13.

You are responsible for confirming with your insurer that your policy covers the journeys you publish, including carrying passengers. Yapalift gives no warranty on this point.

6. Requesting a seat

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] A Passenger may request a Seat on a published Ride. A request must include a short message to the Driver. The Driver then accepts or declines it. A request that the Driver has not answered within 24 hours lapses automatically. A Seat is confirmed only when the Driver accepts the request.

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] Bookings are personal. Drivers and Passengers must be the people identified on their Accounts. You may not request a Seat for another person, and the Platform may only be used by people aged 18 or over, so a minor may not be booked onto a Ride.

6.1 What other Members can see about you

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] This is deliberately narrow, and we would rather state it plainly than bury it.

Any signed-in Member can see: your first name, profile photo, bio, interests, gender, age band, rating, number of rides, whether your ID has been checked, whether (for a Driver) your insurance document has been reviewed, whether your address has been checked, and the year you joined. Anyone, including someone who is not signed in, can see the details of a Ride you have published (route and stops, time, Seats left and any pickup note you write). Do not put your home address or anything else private in a pickup note; anyone can read it.

Other Members do not see your surname, email address, telephone number, your date of birth, the details of any Check, or your insurance document, plate, insurer or expiry date, or your proof of residence or address. Your full vehicle registration is held by us and is not shown to other Members. Messages are visible only to the people in the conversation.

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] We may disclose information about you to An Garda Síochána, a court or an insurer handling a claim where the law requires it or where behaviour puts someone at risk. See our Privacy Policy.

6.2 Changing a route after a booking exists

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] Once a Passenger has been given a Seat, the Driver may not change the route in a way that no longer serves that Passenger’s pickup or drop-off point. If the Driver needs to change the route, they must either keep the original route for Passengers who already have a Seat, or cancel the Ride so that the Passenger can look for another lift.

7. No payments

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] Nothing is charged for matching or for journeys. There is no charge for using the Platform, and no money is paid, collected, held or transferred through it.

7.1 Members take turns driving

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] The Platform exists so that members who travel the same way can look after each other’s journeys. Members take turns driving: a Member who has been given a lift is expected to take their turn at offering one when they are able to. Nobody is ever obliged to offer or accept a lift.

7.2 Members must not ask for, offer or accept payment

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] Members must not ask for, offer or accept payment, a fee, or money or anything else of value of any kind in connection with a lift arranged through the Platform — whether in cash, by bank transfer or app, or as any other form of value given in return for a seat, however it is described. This includes using the Platform to arrange paid journeys outside it. Any breach lets us close your Account (section 13). If you are asked for payment, tell us using the Report function.

7.3 What Yapalift does not do, and employers

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] Yapalift does not take payments, hold Members’ funds, or pay anyone. If an employer ever takes out a subscription with us, that is a separate agreement between us and the employer. It is never connected to individual journeys, and it does not change anything in this section for Members. If any of this changes, we will update these Terms and tell Members before the change takes effect. Any fee for Members is covered only by section 7.4.

7.4 Platform fee (not yet charged)

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] Yapalift is free today. From a date we announce, we may charge a flat Platform fee to cover the running of the Platform (hosting, ID checks, support and safety). We may also charge employers under a separate agreement (section 7.3). The Platform fee:

• is a charge for using the Platform, and is never a payment for a lift;
• is the same whether or not you take, offer or complete any journey;
• is not charged per journey, per Seat, per kilometre or per booking, and does not depend on any Ride;
• is paid to Yapalift only. It is never paid to, shared with or collected for a Driver.

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] Section 7.2 still applies: Members must not ask for, offer or accept payment from each other. We will tell Members at least 30 days before any Platform fee starts, and show the price, what it covers and how to cancel. Before it starts, we will update these Terms and ask you to accept them (section 18).

8. Not a taxi, hire or reward service

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] Yapalift is a free matching service. It is not a taxi, hackney, limousine or hire-and-reward service, and no journey arranged through it is made for reward.

You undertake to use the Platform only to share journeys you were making anyway, on a private, non-professional basis. You must not use a taxi, hackney, company or fleet vehicle to carry people you meet through the Platform.

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] We may suspend your Account where the frequency of your journeys or the number of Passengers carried suggests that you are operating commercially, or where we have reason to think a Member is asking for or receiving payment. You may be asked to show vehicle documentation to demonstrate compliance. Using the Platform to operate an unlicensed commercial transport service is a material breach of these Terms and grounds for immediate suspension under section 13.

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] Where a Member breaches their promises in section 3, 5 or 7 — for example by secretly operating an unlicensed taxi or hire service through the Platform — that Member agrees, to the extent the law allows, to indemnify Yapalift against any fine, regulatory action, legal cost, or third-party claim arising from that breach. This does not extend to any claim, cost or liability to the extent it arises from Yapalift’s own negligence, breach of these Terms, or wilful misconduct.

9. Cancellations

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] You are never obligated to complete a lift, even one that is already agreed. A Driver or Passenger may always cancel a confirmed booking — no permission is needed and no explanation is owed. Because no money changes hands, nothing is paid back and nobody is charged when a booking is cancelled.

9.1 Cancelling as a Driver

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] Please cancel in the app as early as you can, so the Passenger is told straight away and can look for another lift. If you cancel a Ride, the Passengers with a Seat on it are cancelled with it and are told. If you cannot make the agreed pick-up point, message the Passenger as soon as you know.

9.2 Cancelling as a Passenger

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] Please cancel in the app as soon as your plans change. The Driver is told, and the Seat is made available to other Passengers.

9.3 No charge, no right of withdrawal needed

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] Yapalift does not charge you for anything, so there is no purchase to withdraw from. You can stop using the Platform at any time and can ask us to delete your Account (section 13).

9.4 Lateness at the pickup point

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] If you are going to be more than 15 minutes late to the agreed pickup point, message the other Member as soon as you can. Repeatedly arriving late, or not turning up without telling the other Member, may be reviewed under section 13.

10. Conduct of Members

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] You are responsible for complying with all laws applicable to your use of the Platform. Every Member agrees to be 18 or over, to give true information, and to report problems to us (section 12). You agree not to:

• use the Platform for professional or commercial purposes;
• give false, misleading or fraudulent information;
• misrepresent your identity — including by impersonating another person, or by using a name, photograph or description that is not genuinely your own;
• post content or send messages that are defamatory;
• post content or send messages that discriminate against, or incite hatred or violence against, anyone on the basis of race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation, or age;
• post content or send messages that are obscene, threatening, or harassing;
• hold more than one Account, or open one in another person’s name;
• ask for, offer or accept payment, a fee or any other money or value for a lift (section 7);
• contact other Members for any purpose other than arranging the journey;
• carry illegal drugs, weapons, or any prohibited substance on a Ride;
• interfere with the operation of the Platform, or attempt to extract its data by automated means;
• attempt to gain unauthorised access to another Member’s Account, or to any system or network connected to the Platform;
• send spam or unsolicited advertising through the Platform, or upload or transmit malicious code;
• scrape, harvest, or otherwise systematically collect other Members’ data from the Platform.

10.1 Additional obligations of Drivers

• comply with all road traffic law, and with section 5;
• carry out the journey as described, at the times and places agreed;
• carry no more Passengers than Seats advertised;
• tell Passengers immediately of any delay or change;
• wait at least 15 minutes at the agreed pick-up point;
• remain contactable on the number registered to your profile.

10.2 Additional obligations of Passengers

• behave appropriately so as not to distract the Driver or disturb other Passengers;
• respect the Driver’s vehicle;
• tell the Driver immediately if you cannot travel;
• wait at least 15 minutes at the agreed pick-up point;
• carry nothing unlawful or anything that would interfere with the driving;
• remain contactable on the number registered to your profile.

11. Ratings and reviews

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] After a completed Ride, Drivers and Passengers may review each other with a star rating and a short comment. A review becomes visible either once both parties have submitted one, or 14 days after the first is submitted — whichever comes first. This prevents retaliatory reviews. Reviews feed the average rating shown on a profile. You may not review someone you did not travel with. Yapalift does not publish reviews on anyone’s behalf.

12. Reports, moderation and appeals

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] How reports work. You can report a Member who appears to be in breach of these Terms or who worries you, using the Report function in the app, or by emailing concerns@yapalift.ie. A person reads every report. We may remove content, warn the Member, or suspend or close the Account.

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] A serious report suspends the Member reported immediately, and two reports of other kinds against the same Member within 90 days have the same effect. The suspension is not lifted automatically: it stays until a person has reviewed the report and decided what to do. If nobody has reviewed it after 72 hours, we are alerted again.

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] How to appeal. If we remove your content or restrict, suspend or close your Account, you can ask us to look again by emailing concerns@yapalift.ie with your name and what you disagree with. A person who was not involved in the first decision, where we can arrange it, will review it. We aim to reply within 10 working days.

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] Legal notices. Notices about unlawful content, and other legal notices to us, should be sent to concerns@yapalift.ie and to the postal address in section 20.

12.1 Messages

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] Messages exchanged through the Platform are for arranging journeys only, and are visible only to the people in the conversation. Yapalift does not scan or screen messages. We may read a message if a Member reports it, or if the law requires us to.

12.2 Staying within these Terms

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] You must not use the Platform to arrange a paid journey outside it (section 7.2). Doing so is grounds for suspension.

12.3 Reporting to the authorities

Yapalift reserves the right to report to An Garda Síochána or any other competent authority any behaviour that endangers the health or life of any person, whether or not that person is a Member.

13. Refusing, suspending and closing accounts

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] Our rights. We may refuse to open an Account, and may warn you, remove content, restrict your access, or suspend or close your Account, where you breach these Terms (including section 7), where you give false information, or where we reasonably believe it is necessary to protect Members or to investigate or prevent fraud. Where appropriate we will tell you why and give you the chance to respond. You can appeal under section 12.

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] Closing your Account. You may ask us to delete your Account at any time, free of charge and without giving a reason. In the app and on the website, use Request account deletion in your profile settings, or email the address in section 20. We aim to action a request within one month. We erase or anonymise your personal data as described in our Privacy Policy, apart from records we are required or entitled to keep.

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] We may discontinue the Platform entirely, at our discretion. Where we do, we will give Members at least 30 days’ notice where reasonably possible.

14. What we are and are not responsible for

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] Yapalift introduces Members to one another. We do not provide transport. Members act on their own responsibility. To the extent the law allows, Yapalift is not responsible for:

• inaccurate information given by a Member in a listing or otherwise;
• the cancellation or alteration of a journey by a Member;
• the conduct of Members before, during or after a journey, or any loss or injury during a journey;
• the condition, insurance, licence or roadworthiness of a Member’s vehicle or driving;
• the result of a Check, or any decision you make in reliance on it (section 4);
• content posted by Members, or anything that happens between Members, including any disagreement about a journey;
• the Platform being unavailable, or errors in it.

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or for anything else that Irish law does not allow us to exclude or limit. Nothing in these Terms affects your statutory rights as a consumer. Each limit in this section applies only to the extent the law allows.

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] Because the Platform is free, and subject to the previous paragraph, our liability to you for any other loss arising from your use of the Platform is excluded to the extent the law permits. This does not limit your ability to pursue a Driver or Passenger directly for their own acts.

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] Any dispute between a Driver and a Passenger — for example about the conduct of the journey or damage to a vehicle — is a matter between those individuals. Yapalift is not a party to it and does not arbitrate it. You may report conduct that breaches these Terms under section 12, and we may act on an Account as a result, but that is separate from resolving the underlying dispute. Either person remains free to pursue it through the ordinary courts or another lawful route.

15. Personal data

We process personal data in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation, the Irish Data Protection Act 2018, and our Privacy Policy.

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] Identity checks with Stripe Identity involve processing biometric data — specifically, comparing an image of your face with your identity document. This is special category data under Article 9 GDPR. Stripe does this for us, on the basis of your explicit consent, for the sole purpose of confirming identity and preventing fraud, and we receive only the result and its date. You may withdraw consent, though we may then be unable to keep your Account ID-checked. Full details, including how long we keep data and how to exercise your rights, are in our Privacy Policy.

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] Live location during a trip. In the mobile app, a Driver and a Passenger who have both agreed can share their location with each other during a trip. While sharing is on, the app records the phone’s position and shows it to the other person. These location points are deleted automatically after 24 hours. Sharing is optional and either person can stop it. See our Privacy Policy.

15b. Statistics and employers

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] Yapalift does not currently publish, sell or license any data, and employer features are not live yet. If we ever publish statistics about how the service is used — for example, how many journeys run on a route — they will describe patterns across many journeys and will not identify any person. We do not sell personal data. If we ever wanted to share anything about you personally, we would have to come back and ask you. An employer subscription, where one exists, is a separate agreement that is not connected to individual journeys (section 7.3).

16. Intellectual property

Yapalift owns all intellectual property in the Platform, its software, databases and content, other than content supplied by Members. We grant you a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable licence to use the Platform for your own private, non-commercial purposes.

You retain ownership of the content you post. By posting it, you grant us a non-exclusive licence to host, reproduce, adapt, translate and display that content worldwide for as long as you hold an Account, solely to operate the Platform.

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] Where content you posted — for example a review, or a message — is retained after your Account closes because our Privacy Policy says we keep it (see Privacy Policy section 6), this licence continues for as long as we keep it and no longer. We do not gain any broader or longer-lasting right over your content.

You may not copy, adapt, redistribute, reverse-engineer, or extract substantial parts of the Platform or its data, including by automated scraping.

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] If you believe content on the Platform infringes your intellectual property or other rights — separately from a concern about a Member’s conduct, which is reported under section 12 — contact us at the address in section 20, describing the content and the right you believe it infringes.

17. Availability of the Platform

We aim to keep the Platform available at all times, but access may be suspended without notice for maintenance, updates, or reasons outside our control. We may add, alter or withdraw features at our discretion.

18. Changes to these Terms

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] We may update these Terms to reflect changes to the service or to the law. The version number and date are at the top of this page, and the current version is always published here. When a change matters, we will put a notice on the Platform and ask you to accept the new version the next time you sign in. Where we have your email address and are able to, we will also email you, but we do not promise to. You do not have to accept: you may stop using the Platform and ask us to delete your Account instead (section 13). If you carry on using the Platform after the notice, you accept the new version.

19. Governing law and disputes

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] These Terms are governed by the laws of Ireland, and the Irish courts have jurisdiction. If you are a consumer resident elsewhere in the EU, you keep the protection of the mandatory laws of your country of residence.

We ask that you contact us first so that we can try to resolve any complaint directly. If we cannot, you may refer the matter to the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, or use the European Commission’s online dispute resolution platform.

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] This section covers a complaint about the Platform or the service we provide — a fault, or how we have handled something. A concern about another Member’s conduct is reported under section 12 instead. Send a complaint about the service to the address in section 20; we aim to acknowledge it within 2 working days and give a substantive response within 10 working days. Where a complaint needs longer to investigate properly, we will tell you why and give a revised timeframe.

20. Contact and company details

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] Yapalift is a registered business name (no. 793424) of Colleen Doherty, a sole trader in Ireland. Place of business: 111 Moyglare village, Co. Kildare, Ireland.

General contact and privacy: hello@yapalift.ie
Reports, appeals and legal notices: concerns@yapalift.ie

Questions about these Terms and complaints about the service can be sent to either address.

21. Legal framework this service operates under

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] This list is provided for transparency; it is not legal advice and a solicitor should confirm its application, particularly now that the Platform is free and no payment passes between Members.

21.1 Why this is not a taxi service

The whole of Irish SPSV regulation turns on two words: for reward.

Under the Taxi Regulation Act 2013, section 2, a licence to drive a small public service vehicle means a licence “to drive a small public service vehicle for the carriage of persons for reward”. Under section 7(2)(a) and (b), the licensing regulations require a licence for a vehicle “to be used as a small public service vehicle for the carriage of persons for reward”, and for a person “to drive a small public service vehicle for the carriage of persons for reward”.

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] Yapalift is built so that no journey on it is made for reward. A Driver publishes a trip they were already making, for their own reasons. Using the Platform is free, no money is paid between Members, and Members must not ask for or accept payment of any kind (section 7). Concretely:

• Drivers cannot be hailed, and cannot advertise availability for hire.
• Journeys are published in advance with a fixed origin and destination. There is no on-demand hailing.
• A Seat is confirmed only when the Driver chooses to accept a request.

We are not a dispatch operator. We do not dispatch vehicles, allocate jobs, or hold out any Driver as available for hire. We publish trips that individuals have chosen to make and let others ask to share them.

Road traffic obligations. Under the Road Traffic Act 1961, section 56, a person must not use a vehicle in a public place without an approved policy of insurance in force. These duties fall on the Driver personally. Under section 5 of these Terms, Drivers promise they hold a valid licence, current motor insurance covering the use, a current NCT certificate where required, and valid motor tax.

21.2 Our position as an intermediary

European Communities (Directive 2000/31/EC) Regulations 2003 (S.I. No. 68/2003), transposing the E-Commerce Directive. This is the basis on which Yapalift acts as an intermediary hosting content supplied by Members, rather than as the provider of the transport itself.

Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, the Digital Services Act, applies directly in Ireland and is supervised here by Coimisiún na Meán. It governs the notice-and-action, moderation and appeal duties set out in sections 12 and 13.

21.3 Consumer protection

Consumer Rights Act 2022, which consolidated Irish consumer law, together with the Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2014. The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission is the enforcement body named in section 19.

21.4 Data protection

Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018, supervised by the Data Protection Commission. Article 9 GDPR governs the biometric processing involved in matching a live selfie to an identity document, which is why that processing rests on explicit consent, as described in section 15.

21.5 Money

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] Yapalift does not take, hold or transfer Members’ money, and no payment passes between Members through the Platform, so it does not operate as a payment service. If that changes, these Terms will be updated first.

21.6 Corporate

The operator is a sole trader trading under a registered business name. The Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act 1980 applies to the platform service itself.

22. Force majeure, severability and no waiver

Neither party is liable for failure to perform caused by events beyond its reasonable control, including severe weather, industrial action, network or power failure, or acts of public authority.

[DRAFT — pending solicitor review] Where such an event continues for more than 30 consecutive days, either you or Yapalift may end these Terms as they apply to the affected Ride or Account by giving written notice to the other, without liability for having done so.

If any provision of these Terms is held invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue in force. A failure by Yapalift to enforce any provision is not a waiver of it.

These Terms constitute the entire agreement between you and Yapalift regarding the Platform. Other material published by us — help pages, blog posts, marketing — is informational only.

23. Our insurance and regulatory disclosures

Yapalift does not provide insurance for the journeys themselves. Each Driver is responsible for their own motor insurance, as set out in section 5.

Digital Services Act disclosures. Under Article 24(2) of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, we publish the average monthly number of active recipients of the service in the European Union, updated at least every six months. Under Article 11, authorities of the EU, the European Commission and the European Board for Digital Services may contact us at hello@yapalift.ie. Members can use the same address (see section 20).