A new taxi firm could soon be operating in York.
Veezu, which says it is Britain’s fastest growing private hire company, has applied for a taxi licence in the city.
The Cardiff-based company is in the process of buying Drive Private Hire Ltd, the taxi firm based on Layerthorpe.
According to its application form, Veezu would have more than 90 cars in York.
A City of York Council report says the company holds 115 private hire operator’s licences issued by nearby local authorities, including Leeds and Hull councils.
A meeting of the licensing and regulatory sub-committee on Monday (28 April) will decide whether or not to grant a private hire operator’s licence to Veezu.
To do so, the applicant must be considered “a fit and proper person”.
The council report notes that this is important, as people give a lot of personal information when hiring a taxi.
“For example, when a booking is made to an airport, and a return booking made for a week or fortnight later, it is reasonably apparent that a holiday is being taken and the house is going to be empty for that period of time. In dishonest hands this information is extremely valuable.
“It is therefore vital that private hire operators are as trustworthy and reliable as a driver, notwithstanding their slightly remote role.”
Veezu was founded in 2013. Since then it has bought up other taxi firms across the country, including Premier Cars in Leeds.
In 2023, it made more than £1m from passenger fares in a single day for the first time. It’s app has been downloaded more than a million times too.
On its website it says: “Veezu is the UK’s fastest-growing taxi and private hire technology business with more than 16,000 active driver-partners.
“The tech-driven on-demand mobility service that supports our hyper-local communities, helping them thrive.”