What are cookies?
Cookies are small text files that
are placed on your computer by websites that you visit. They are widely used to
make websites work and to function more effectively. For example, they may be
required to keep you logged in to a service, or to remember your user
preferences or shopping cart contents. A cookie will typically contain a record
of the web site which issued it, its own name, and a value which is often a
randomly generated unique number.
A cookie will have a ‘lifetime’,
which tells your browser when to delete it. Cookies can be set by the website
domain itself, or by another domain, for example by Google Maps.
session cookie lasts only for the duration of the user’s website visit. A web
browser normally deletes session cookies when it quits.
persistent cookie will outlast user sessions. If a persistent cookie has its
maximum age set to 1 year, then, within the year, the initial value set in that
cookie would be sent back to the server every time the user visited the server.
This could be used to record a piece of information such as how the user
initially came to this website. For this reason persistent cookies are also
called tracking cookies.
secure cookie is only used when a browser is visiting a server via HTTPS,
ensuring that the cookie is always encrypted when transmitting from client to
First-party cookies are cookies set with the same
domain (or its subdomain) in the browser's address bar.
Third-party cookies are cookies set with different domains
from the one shown on the address bar (i.e. the web pages on that domain may
feature content from a third-party domain - e.g. Google Maps or YouTube).
Privacy setting options in most modern browsers allow you to block third-party
The principal law which governs how websites use
cookies and similar technologies when storing information on a user’s
equipment, such as their computer or mobile device, is the Privacy and
Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations. The regulations were
amended on 26 May 2011.
Regulation 6 covers the use of electronic
communications networks to store information (e.g. cookies) or to gain access
to information stored in the terminal equipment of a subscriber or user. The
change in the law was prompted by concerns about online tracking of individuals
and is intended to protect the privacy of users by requiring their knowledge
not directly personally identifiable.
the Information Commissioner’s Office guidelines .
Can I turn off cookies?
You can manually disable cookies
on your computer, or delete existing cookies. You may also be able to view the
cookies already in your system. This will depend on your browser. See the links
below which tell you how to delete or disable cookies in each of the major
7 and 8
Please note that cookies are
essential to the effective functioning of some of the services we offer online.
If you disable cookies, a number of important functions and services will be
unavailable to you and our websites may not operate correctly in your browser.
below detail the
cookies used on the Arriva websites, including details of who sets each cookie,
its purpose, when it expires, its level of intrusiveness, and, if relevant, how
you can find out further information:
Arriva Bus Cookies
Green Line Cookies
Wardle Transport Cookies