Systems and methods for verifying high-occupancy vehicle journeys and determining preferential road allowances

A method of verifying vehicle occupancy in a shared transport vehicle, the method comprising:

• detecting, by a verification system, a first transport user device to be in transit proximity to a transport provider device of the shared transport vehicle, wherein the first transport user device is associated with a first shared transport user;
• setting, by the verification system, an occupancy count for the shared transport vehicle to a first value when detecting the first transport user device in transit proximity to the transport provider device;
• storing, by the verification system, the occupancy count at a storage device of the verification system;
• detecting, by the verification system, whether a second transport user device is in transit proximity to the transport provider device of the shared transport vehicle, wherein the second transport user device is associated with a second shared transport user;
• updating, by the verification system, the occupancy count to a second value if the second transport user device is detected in transit proximity to the transport provider device;
• storing, by the verification system, the updated occupancy count at the storage device of the verification system;
• comparing, by the verification system, the updated occupancy count against a predetermined occupancy threshold of shared transport users;
• authenticating, by the verification system, a vehicle occupancy result of the shared transport vehicle if the updated occupancy count exceeds the predetermined occupancy threshold of shared transport users;
• and
• sending, by the verification system, the authenticated vehicle occupancy result to a receiving entity.

A computer system for verifying vehicle occupancy in a shared transport vehicle, the system comprising:

• a memory having processor-readable instructions stored therein;
• and
• a processor configured to access the memory and execute the processor-readable instructions, which when executed by the processor configures the processor to perform a plurality of functions, including functions to:
• detect, by a verification system, a first transport user device to be in transit proximity to a transport provider device of the shared transport vehicle, wherein the first transport user device is associated with a first shared transport user;
• set, by the verification system, an occupancy count for the shared transport vehicle to a first value when detecting the first transport user device in transit proximity to the transport provider device;
• store, by the verification system, the occupancy count at a storage device of the verification system;
• detect, by the verification system, whether a second transport user device is in transit proximity to the transport provider device of the shared transport vehicle, wherein the second transport user device is associated with a second shared transport user;
• update, by the verification system, the occupancy count to a second value if the second transport user device is detected in transit proximity to the transport provider device;
• store, by the verification system, the updated occupancy count at the storage device of the verification system;
• compare, by the verification system, the updated occupancy count against a predetermined occupancy threshold of shared transport users;
• authenticate, by the verification system, a vehicle occupancy result of the shared transport vehicle if the updated occupancy count exceeds the predetermined occupancy threshold of shared transport users;
• and
• send, by the verification system, the authenticated vehicle occupancy result to a receiving entity.