IT is a simple law of economics that when there is not enough supply to meet demand, values go up.

That is why hackney carriage licences in York, initially issued for £90, at most, have been exchanging hands for up to £60,000.

With 144 people on the waiting list for a council-issued cab licence, and only 158 licensed vehicles allowed in the city, would-be cabbies have faced a long wait. Often, the only way to get a licence has been to pay through the nose to buy one already in circulation.

Now the city council is considering deregulating licences. At a stroke, that could mean the number of hackney cabs on York's streets almost doubling. The increase may be even steeper - when Liverpool deregulated, the city's cab fleet went from 450 to 1,200.

This would be good for customers. Unlike private hire cars, which can only pick up pre-booked fares, hackney cabs can cruise the streets for passengers. More cabs would mean a better service.

Existing licence-holders are understandably concerned. They claim more cabs would simply mean the streets being flooded at peak times - with no more cabs around at other times. But de-regulation would mean the licences for which some of them paid good money would effectively become worthless, they say.

Nobody would be taking away their livelihood, however. They would still be able to ply their trade - there would simply be more competition.

Cabbies who have paid a lot for their licences might have a case for asking the city council for compensation. But for the rest of us, more cabs would be good news. It might even encourage us to leave our own cars at home occasionally. That would mean less pollution and less drink-driving - a pretty "fare" result.