Accommodation Info

How to... Use Taxis in Sheffield

By AccommodationTeam 05 Jul 2022

Whether you've been dancing the night away on West Street or visiting some of Sheffield's local attractions, sometimes the thought of tackling the hills is just too much to handle! Taxi's are a great option if you want to hurry home. Remember these top tips and make sure you stay safe!

Veezu Safe Rides

If you’ve run out of money on a night out, then you can still get safely home by taking advantage of the Veezu Safe Rides.

All you need to do is call Veezu on 0114 239 39 39, remembering to quote ‘Veezu Safe Rides’.

Once you arrive at your destination, instead of paying, you can hand over your UCard. The taxi driver will give you a receipt and will return your UCard to the Students’ Union Welcome Desk within 24-48 hours.

All you need to do is simply take your receipt along to the welcome desk, pay the taxi fare and get your UCard back.

Safety Mini Bus

The Safety Minibus is run by the Students Union and designed so that every student will have a safe ride home if they should ever need it. Tuesday - Saturday (+ Monday/ Sunday when there is a late night SU event) throughout term time.

The Safety Minibus takes you from outside the Students' Union building directly to your door (max 2 miles from the Students' Union), for just £1.50 or £10 for a journey saver ticket. Pick up is from the SU main doors and East entrance on club nights. There you can make cashless payment for your ticket and the team will escort you to the bus.

Here are our top tips for other types of taxis;

Hackney Carriage:

Hail the vehicle or get in at a designated rank
Tell the driver where you are going – (give as much information as you can)
You should have enough money to pay for the full fare
Under no circumstances hand over your mobile phone or any other personal belongings to the driver in lieu of payment or deposit
Do not agree a fare in advance
Ensure that the taxi meter is on (by law drivers have to activate the meter at the beginning of a journey) the charge cannot be more than what is displayed on the meter at the destination
Doors lock in Hackney Carriage Vehicles automatically when the vehicle is in motion. Once the vehicle stops and you have paid the fare the doors should be unlocked

Private Hire Vehicle (Uber, Bolt etc.)

Call or book through an app (a private hire cannot be hailed on the street – if you get into a vehicle that is not pre booked you are putting yourself in danger as an un-booked job can invalidate the insurance)and the driver is more likely than not going to overcharge you for that journey
Ask the call handler for an estimated price
Check that you are getting into the right vehicle (confirmation of booking text message should say the make and registration of the vehicle). Keep this message.

All vehicles:

All Sheffield City Council Licensed vehicles/drivers should have their driver ID displayed clearly inside the vehicle (this is needed to identify the driver if you wish to make a complaint and for peace of mind that this driver is licenced by Sheffield City Council)
A driver can ask for a deposit but this cannot be more than the final fare
Be aware that if you soil a private hire or hackney carriage you could be charged a significant amount