Veezu has responded to a protest which took place outside its Sheffield headquarters over recent changes to its payment structure.

The protest took place outside Veezu’s Sheffield’s Office on April 23rd and consisted of over 200 local taxi drivers.

The company said: “As self-employed drivers running their own businesses, several of the drivers have proposed commercial terms which Veezu is considering and will be discussing with them in the coming weeks.”

However, the company did stress that, as’ self-employed individuals in business,’ the drivers can decide which operator they use.

Despite complaints, Veezu said it ‘hopes’ that drivers continue to operate via their system, but ‘recognise this is a commercial market’ and that drivers may opt out of working with them.

One driver, who asked to remain anonymous, said: “The change has brought on a lot of stress, they don’t seem at all concerned about how it affects us.

“It’s inconsiderate. I don’t know how they expect us to continue to support ourselves and our families.”

Veezu, which acquired local taxi company City Taxis in 2023, introduced commission rates that vary based on how many jobs each driver completes and increased the maximum rate from 20% to 35%.

Drivers need to complete over 100 trips weekly to reach the lowest commission scale of 12%.

At the same time, Veezu reduced its prices in an attempt to undercut Uber.

This decrease, coupled with increased fuel prices and car insurance, has meant that drivers have said they barely earn the minimum wage.

Another driver, Aftab Ahmed, speaking to the BBC, said: “It feels like the company does not regard drivers as partners in the same business—not working as a team, but working against each other.”

The changes will exacerbate the already significant impact of the ongoing cost of living crisis.

Veezu has claimed that they acted in ‘the interest of customers’, clearly at the expense of the backbone of their operation, the drivers themselves.