https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/feb/14/its-hard-to-survive-why-uk-private-hire-drivers-are-striking-on-valentines-day > About 200 drivers got in touch with the Guardian to share their views on the industrial action > When Simon Waite began working as a private hire driver in 2017, it gave him the flexibility and income to spend time with his children, then aged five, 12 and 18. “One of the reasons I loved Uber was because I could now go to the school plays, my son’s football, I could earn my money around life,” he says.