Dublin taxi numbers could be doubled if the market was deregulated and the current regulatory regime changed, according to Trinity College economists in a new paper analysing the problem. Dr John Fingleton, who launched the paper, `The Dublin Taxi Market: Re-regulate or Stay Queuing', co-authored by two postgraduate students, Mr John Evans and Mr Oliver Hogan, says that taxi users were paying £12 million a year in excessive fares "and this does not include the cost of waiting for a taxi".

The authors say that disabled people in particular are suffering most from "chronic excess demand for taxis" and that deregulation of entry should "allow any suitably qualified applicant to have a licence". "In this way the market supply would adjust to meet demand. Licence fees should be held as low as possible to enable and encourage part-time work to meet peak demand," the three authors state.

They point out that in 20 years taxi numbers have only increased by 7.5 per cent, from 1,835 in 1978 to 1,976 today.

"Although taxi usage has increased, and the number of hackneys has ballooned from 800 in 1992 to over 3,000 now, excess demand for taxis persists . . . we estimate that the market could support at least twice the existing number of taxi vehicles," they say. A staggered deregulatory approach over five years would complement public transport, facilitate anti-drink driving measures and benefit disabled people who cannot resort to other forms of transportation.

They recommend that quality standards should be improved and that a regulator should be appointed who would be "politically accountable but capable of making decisions in a politically independent manner".

"Because political lobbying can determine the number of taxis, a lobby group of 2,000 has a disproportionate influence on a market of more than one million users," they say.

But they recommend that present taxi price structures remain under a new regulatory system, although fares for hackneys should remain unregulated. "The fact that customers book by telephone and in advance and are often repeat users means that price competition may be more effective.