Passengers can check taxi driver licence via phone

A council is making driver licence checks accessible by smartphone to provide increased security for taxi and private hire passengers.

City of Wolverhampton Council has introduced contactless driver ID cards so passengers can view a digital version of their licence by tapping the card.

More than 15,000 drivers licensed by the council have been given the new ID cards and have been tapped more than 40,000 times, it said.

The technology aims to provide passengers with reassurance about their driver's identity and confirm to them whether their private hire or taxi licence is current and valid.

Existing identity cards used by taxi and private hire drivers across the country can be copied and used fraudulently, the council said.

The new ID cards include a hologram, optically variable inks and guilloche patterns, similar to those seen on banknotes and passports.

It will be in the front windscreen on the passenger's side of the vehicle and customers can tap through the glass before they get in.

If the licence status shows as invalid, they are advised not to get in the vehicle and report the driver to the council.

Councillor Bhupinder Gakhal said the technology made "checking your driver's licence and identity far simpler than calling the council".

"Not only do the new cards offer extra reassurance, they are also more environmentally friendly and prevent the need for tens of thousands of plastic licences to be printed every year," he said.

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