According to Techweb, taxi cabs in China’s capitol will be taking a step into the 21st century next year with the addition of QR codes on driver identification cards. When scanned by passengers, the QR code will provide basic information about both the cab company and the car’s driver.
There are a lot of reasons why this could be useful. To begin with, the system should allow passengers to differentiate between real cabs and unregistered fake ones. Scanning the code will connect users to the taxi database of Beijing’s transit authorities, and since fake cabs won’t be in that database, QR codes in fake cabs won’t work properly. Users will be able to call a hotline and report these cabs to authorities.
But the new QR codes will also be useful to passengers who received poor service during their trip and would like to report their driver. Currently, unless you’ve got a sharp memory or you brought a pen and paper into the cab with you, this can be difficult to do since cab driver information exists only on a paper card that stays in the cab. Once QR codes are introduced, a quick scan will be all you need to collect all of the relevant information on your phone. Then if your cab driver breaks the law, you’ve got his ID and his company’s contact info easily at hand.
Implementation of the new QR codes should be finished by March 31 of next year.
See: Why Singapore’s regulations on taxi apps are bad for consumers
(Source: Techweb)
Editing by David Corbin
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