As well as a fare freeze, the draft report of IPART’s review of taxi fares outside Sydney to apply from July 2015 also recommends reform of the way taxis are licensed outside Sydney to address an undersupply of taxis in many regional areas.

IPART chairman Dr Peter Boxall said the report has found that while fewer people use taxi and other point-to-point transport services in regional and rural areas than in Sydney, in many areas demand was growing faster than the supply of taxis.

“But despite growing demand in some areas, we have found that the current taxi licensing arrangements inhibit effective entry to and competition in the taxi industry outside Sydney,” he said.