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Sydney Ford\u2019s petition is to put QR codes in the window of the Uber or Lyft driver\u2019s vehicle. The passenger would first scan the code with their phone camera and the code would be approved through the app before the passenger would be allowed to get into the vehicle.<\/p>\n
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The week after the death of USC student Samantha Josephson has been difficult for the community, but people like Sydney Ford are using this tragedy to ensure that this doesn\u2019t happen again.<\/p>\n
Ford, a 24-year-old USC alumnus who was friends with Samantha, started a petition on April 3 to install QR codes on ride-sharing\u00a0vehicles so that both passengers and drivers are safe.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that\u2019s something that a lot of people would support,\u201d said USC student Matt Leisses. \u201cI would definitely use it. I think it\u2019s probably a good idea to keep people safer.\u201d<\/p>\n
After Samantha’s tragedy, people are feeling less safe in these ride-sharing vehicles, including Ford.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got into a Lyft on Saturday right after the passing of Sami was announced and I just felt like throwing up,\u201d Ford said. \u201cI felt so much fear just thinking about what she went through when she realized she was in a car she couldn\u2019t get out of.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Ford, the QR code sticker could be placed on the passenger\u2019s window that would be scanned by the rider to confirm to both parties that the right person is getting into the right vehicle. This would also be a way to pinpoint locations of people.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think there are simpler solutions,\u201d said USC student Matthew Cao. \u201cIt takes a long time to submit a QR code or things like that and you\u2019d have to regenerate it individually for each ride.\u201d<\/p>\n
Within three days, the petition had reached the 75,000 signatures Ford originally wanted to get. Now at a little over 150,000 signatures, the petition is now creeping closer to achieving Ford’s new goal of 200,000.<\/p>\n
Ford doesn\u2019t expect these transportation companies to immediately embrace her idea. But, change.org has sent the petition to Uber and Lyft, and she believes that with more signatures and continuing pressure on the companies, something could happen.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe trust these companies with our lives every day as we get in a car with someone else behind the wheel,\u201d Ford said. She said that Josephson’s death is leading people to recognize that they\u2019re not checking to verify the car model, license plate, or Uber\/Lyft driver. \u201cA lot of people realized this could have been them.\u201d<\/p>\n