These Terms of Service ("Terms") are a binding agreement between you and tktk studio LLC ("tktk studio," "we," "us," or "our"), a New York limited liability company, governing your use of the Tunnel Rat mobile application for iOS (the "App").
Please read these Terms carefully. They include important disclaimers about the accuracy of transit information (Sections 4 and 5) and a limitation of our liability (Section 13). By downloading or using the App, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the App.
Eligibility. You must be at least 13 years old to use the App, and it is not directed to children under 13. If you are under the age of majority where you live, you may use the App only with the involvement of a parent or guardian.
Who we are
The App is provided by tktk studio LLC. You can reach us at hi@tktk.studio.
The service
Tunnel Rat is an independent app that shows real-time New York City subway arrival estimates, service alerts, line status, station information, and trip suggestions, and can send you optional notifications about service on the lines you follow. The transit data comes from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and related public data sources.
Not affiliated with the MTA
Tunnel Rat is an independent application. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or operated by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), the New York City Transit Authority, or any government agency. Transit data is provided by the MTA and used in accordance with the MTA's open-data terms. "MTA," subway line names and bullets, station names, and related marks are the property of their respective owners and are used for identification and informational purposes only.
Transit information is an estimate — do not rely on it for critical decisions
This is important, so we want to be clear:
- Arrival times, service alerts, line status, equipment (elevator/escalator) status, and trip suggestions are estimates and predictions derived from third-party data feeds (primarily the MTA). They may be inaccurate, incomplete, delayed, or unavailable, including because of issues with the underlying data, network conditions (subway signal is unreliable), or service changes.
- You should not rely on the App for safety-critical, time-critical, accessibility-critical, or emergency decisions. Always follow official signage, announcements, MTA personnel, and the official MTA channels, which are authoritative. If accessibility (such as a working elevator) is essential to your trip, confirm it through official sources before you travel.
- We do not guarantee that any train will arrive, depart, or run as shown, that any alert is current or complete, or that any suggested route is available or optimal.
You use the App and rely on its information at your own risk.
AI-generated content
Some content in the App — such as summaries of service alerts and periodic "digest" summaries of planned work — is generated automatically by AI from public MTA information. The App labels machine-generated summaries and includes a notice to that effect. AI-generated summaries may contain errors, omissions, or misinterpretations. Where an AI summary and the official MTA alert differ, the official MTA information controls. Treat AI summaries as a convenience, not as authoritative information.
License to use the App
Subject to these Terms, we grant you a personal, limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to download and use the App on Apple devices you own or control, for your own non-commercial use. We reserve all rights not expressly granted.
Acceptable use
You agree not to:
- use the App for any unlawful purpose or in violation of these Terms;
- copy, modify, reverse-engineer, decompile, or attempt to extract the source code of the App, except to the extent this restriction is prohibited by applicable law;
- scrape, harvest, or systematically extract data from the App or our backend, or use the App's data feeds other than through the App as intended;
- interfere with, disrupt, overload, or attack the App or our servers, or attempt to circumvent rate limits, security, or access controls;
- use the App to build or train a competing product or service, or to develop a competing dataset; or
- remove or obscure any proprietary notices.
Feedback and content you submit
The App lets you submit feedback, bug reports, and optional attachments (such as a screenshot). When you submit something:
- You are responsible for what you submit. Do not submit anything unlawful, infringing, defamatory, or that contains sensitive personal information or the personal information of others.
- We can act on your feedback. When you send a suggestion or report, you're giving us permission to use it to run and improve the App. We're not claiming ownership of anything else you make.
- Handling of submissions is described in our Privacy Policy, including the third-party services involved.
Intellectual property
The App and everything in it other than third-party transit data — including its software, design, user interface, graphics, the "Tunnel Rat" name and branding, and other content we provide — is owned by tktk studio LLC or its licensors and is protected by intellectual-property laws. Transit data and related marks belong to the MTA and other respective owners. These Terms do not transfer any ownership to you.
Pricing and paid features
The App is free to use, and we aim to keep its core features free. If we ever add paid features, they'll be optional extras, and you'll never be charged for anything without explicitly opting in. Any purchases would be processed by Apple through the App Store and governed by Apple's terms, and we'll show you the applicable price and terms before you buy. We are not responsible for Apple's payment processing, and refunds (if any) are handled according to Apple's policies.
Third-party services
The App depends on third-party services — including Apple, the MTA and related public data sources, and the service providers listed in our Privacy Policy. Your use of those services may be subject to their own terms and policies. We are not responsible for third-party services, their availability, or their content, and their inclusion does not imply our endorsement.
Disclaimers — "as is"
To the maximum extent permitted by law, the App is provided "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE," without warranties of any kind, whether express, implied, or statutory. We specifically disclaim all implied warranties, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, non-infringement, and any warranties arising from course of dealing or usage of trade. We do not warrant that the App will be uninterrupted, timely, secure, error-free, or that any information (including arrival times, alerts, and routes) will be accurate, complete, current, or available.
Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of certain warranties, so some of the above may not apply to you.
Limitation of liability
To the maximum extent permitted by law, tktk studio LLC and its members, officers, employees, and agents will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages, or for any loss of profits, data, goodwill, or other intangible losses, arising out of or relating to your use of (or inability to use) the App — including, without limitation, any loss or harm arising from your reliance on arrival times, alerts, accessibility/equipment status, or route suggestions, a missed or delayed train, or a missed connection or appointment — whether based on warranty, contract, tort (including negligence), statute, or any other legal theory, and whether or not we have been advised of the possibility of such damages.
To the maximum extent permitted by law, our total liability for all claims relating to the App will not exceed USD $100.
Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations of liability, so some of the above may not apply to you. Nothing in these Terms limits liability that cannot be limited under applicable law.
Indemnification
To the extent permitted by law, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless tktk studio LLC and its members, officers, employees, and agents from any claims, damages, liabilities, losses, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) to the extent they arise from your misuse of the App, your violation of these Terms, or your violation of any law or the rights of a third party.
Changes to the App and to these Terms
We may modify, suspend, or discontinue the App or any feature at any time, with or without notice. We may also update these Terms; when we do, we will revise the "Last updated" date, and for material changes we will provide a more prominent notice. Your continued use of the App after an update means you accept the revised Terms.
Termination
These Terms remain in effect while you use the App. You may stop at any time by deleting the App. We may suspend or terminate your access if you violate these Terms or use the App in a way that could harm us, other users, or third parties. Sections that by their nature should survive termination (including Sections 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, and 17) will survive.
Governing law and disputes
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of New York, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules. You agree that any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the App will be resolved exclusively in the state or federal courts located in New York, New York, and you consent to the personal jurisdiction of those courts — except where applicable law gives you the right to bring a claim in your local courts. We encourage you to contact us first at hi@tktk.studio so we can try to resolve any issue informally.
Apple App Store terms
Because you obtain the App through the Apple App Store, the following also applies:
- These Terms are between you and tktk studio LLC only, not with Apple. Apple is not responsible for the App or its content.
- Your license to use the App is limited to use on Apple-branded devices you own or control, as permitted by the App Store Terms of Service.
- Apple has no obligation to provide maintenance or support for the App. Any support questions should go to hi@tktk.studio.
- To the extent permitted by law, Apple has no warranty obligation with respect to the App, and any claims relating to the App will be our responsibility, not Apple's, as set out in these Terms.
- Apple is not responsible for addressing any claims by you or a third party relating to the App, including product-liability, legal/regulatory, or intellectual-property claims.
- You represent that you are not located in a country subject to a U.S. Government embargo or designated as "terrorist-supporting," and that you are not on any U.S. Government restricted-party list.
- Apple and its subsidiaries are third-party beneficiaries of these Terms and may enforce them against you.
Miscellaneous
These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy, are the entire agreement between you and tktk studio LLC regarding the App. If any provision is found unenforceable, the rest remains in effect. Our failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver. You may not assign these Terms without our consent; we may assign them in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets.
