Edinburgh Napier University

  As a transport mode, the taxi is often given scant attention. The mode is consistent, in appearance and function, and has followed the same patterns of licensing, rather than mainstream transport, from its origin as the first licensed public transport mode to current day arguments between regulation, whether a market operates better under a controlled or de-restricted model. The apparent lack of reporting does not, however, equate to a lack of analysis. Indeed a significant staple of consultancy and authority work exists. This including, in most mature markets, reporting specific to regulation; much of which is focused on the choice between a restriction placed on the numbers of licenses issued and the, apparent, alternative of allowing free market entry. Underlying the current, often complex, approaches to market form and its analysis, is the simple question, whether there is a "golden number" of taxis that should be provided in any one location; and whether there is a "golden rule" against which this number can be established. Indeed whether either open market access or controlled determined restriction can achieve an optimal solution.