Medium Cost Interventions
9. QR authentication stickers for private drivers
Unique, scannable codes placed on private hire vehicles, that link to a verified driver profile. This allows passengers to confirm the driver's legitimacy before entering the vehicle, preventing impersonation, empowering passengers, increasing accountability for drivers, supporting law enforcement, and building trust in private transport services.
High quality QR stickers 50p-£1 per unit
Bulk Printing (i.e. 10,000 units) £7,000
QR code platform £5-£50/month
Custom backend integration £10,000 initial set up
Driver onboarding £20 per drier
Driver training & support materials £2,000
Public Awareness campaign £5,000
Total £30,000-£40,000 (1,000 drivers)
System development & procurement (QR platform, backend) 4-6 weeks
Pilot testing (100 drivers) 2 weeks
Full rollout (1k drivers) 6-8 weeks
Public awareness campaign 4 weeks, can run alongside
Total 3-4 months
QR code platform subscription £600-£2400 per annum
Sticker replacement ~£1000 per annum
Staff for ongoing verification & support £5000 per annum
System updates & hosting ~£2000 per annum
Annual Maintenance Cost £8,000-£10,000
5-7 year lifespan, with periodic updates and sticker reissues every 2-3 years
Effectiveness
It is recognised that women experience high harassment and unsafe incident rates in taxis and private car hires, with significant gaps in reliable verification existing, increasing vulnerability. Better technolgical verification systems are recommended as part of future innovation. There is currently an underreporting issue with VAWG incidents involving taxis or hire vehicles, due to women's inability to verify drivers, gaps in traceability, and difficulty identifying perps after incidents. Visible accountability via QR authentication, would follow a similar logic to CCTV awareness stickers, which are proven to deter criminality and increase compliance in taxis. Studies hve found that uncertainty about a driver's identity is a major cause of fear for women, who will often avoid taxis altogether due to this concern.