Builtbydrivers,fordrivers.

There was a time when minicab driving was a proper living. Hard work, yes — long nights, difficult passengers, roads you had to know by heart. But it put food on the table. Immigrants chose this trade to build a life in a new country. Doctors, engineers, teachers from back home — they drove because it was honest work that rewarded the hours you put in.

Then the industry started shifting. The TfL licensing battles of the 2000s were the first shake-up. Then came the tech giants — the Ubers, the Bolts, the Freenows — promising passengers cheaper rides while quietly squeezing the drivers who made it all possible. Commission went up. Pay went down. The trade that once supported families became a race to the bottom.

My father drove a minicab from the 1980s to the 2020s in the UK. He loved it — really loved it. He retired in his 80s, and if he had his way, he'd still be on the roads. Graveyard shifts, seven-day weeks — I haven't even come close to matching his work effort. The freedom of the minicab, the social side I used to see with my dad and his pals on the rooftop car park at Morrisons, the pinky notes. These guys were paid, free from the shackles of society, masters of their own ship.

It's not all glory, though. Runaway customers, short change, tussles with passengers, chases, dealing with the intoxicated. The industry is safer now, yes — but we've clipped the wings in terms of earnings. The role itself is slowly diminishing to minimum wage. That's why the time for change has come.

cabeazy exists because drivers deserve a platform that works for them, not against them. No surge pricing. A commission cap that means the more you drive, the more you keep. A platform built by someone who grew up in the trade — not a boardroom.