[will_hughes]

Taxi prices have nothing to do with the availability of plates - taxi rates are fixed, not demand based.

Lower availability of plates would be linked somewhat to higher profits for taxis though (since it should increase their utilisation if the taxi is deployed in high demand areas).

Taxi plate owners did complain at the time the supply was increased (iirc saying mainly that there were already too many taxis), but there was little they could do other than make some noise.

I'm a Sydneysider and semi-regular taxi user, and given how far out I live from work - well aware of how expensive Sydney taxis are.