Back to school price hike for local taxi firm

The largest private hire business in the area, Veezu, has pushed through price increases just in time to hit children returning to school.

A partner driver with Veezu told Telford Live that a £1 surcharge on fares will apply between 7:30am and 9am, and again between 2:30pm and 4pm, both peak times for school travel.

This could mean an increase of £40 a month for a family with a child who needs a taxi to get to school, or £20 a month for anyone who uses a taxi to get to work for 9am.

This uplift in fares coincides with new terms forced upon drivers.  From documentation we have seen, drivers will be on a sliding scale for accepting more fares, with a cap at £142 a week for taking more than 30 bookings a week, but drivers will have to pay 30% “Weekly Access Fee” commission for taking 10 bookings a week or fewer. 

All fares now attract a booking fee ranging between 30p and 50p – up from 20p – a trip and this is outside of the cap.

Previously the partner drivers were charged a fixed 18%.  The minimum now will be 20% for taking more than 30 bookings a week.

Unhappy drivers have offered to meet with Veezu to discuss the new terms, but one driver who contacted Telford Live said “We offered to have face to face discussions. They [Veezu] want all communications done via email and are refusing to budge on any areas.”

“For some drivers doing mainly airport runs & long distance where you can’t physically do 10 a week, this change will mean that they are paying a much higher proportion of their earnings to Veezu than someone doing local jobs.”

The drivers sent a letter to Veezu on 28th August, but Veezu are insisting that each driver upload their grievance via the driver portal individually.

A spokesperson for the partner drivers in Telford said “We have not ruled out strike action.  We could see 200 drivers looking at alternative platforms such as Uber if Veezu are unwilling to negotiate or open dialogue with drivers.”

The new rates run from 1st of September 2025, just as the schools return after the summer break.

We tried to contact Veezu for a comment, but the email bounced back and there are no press contacts listed on the website.