A lack of competition in the Brisbane taxi market could be leaving consumers $40 million worse off each year, according to the Queensland Premier's advisers on economic policy.

A report by the Economic Policy Group (EPG), released to Uber through a Right to Information request and obtained by ABC's 7.30 program, found limiting the number of taxis on the road in the state's south-east resulted in higher fares and poor service.

Citing research from the Centre for International Economics, the EPG said customers had the most to lose from the lack of supply.

"Brisbane consumers were worse off by $40 million a year from restricting Brisbane taxi numbers with a dead weight loss to society of $3 million to $20 million a year," the group said.

"Tourism is decreased due to the high cost and lack of availability of taxi services, reducing the ability for tourists to travel into and around tourist areas.

"The damage to the Queensland economy from this kind of overregulation is easy to see and will continue to cause significant economic costs to the Queensland people until the constraints on supply are removed."

The report acknowledges the controversy surrounding the ride-sharing application Uber, particularly the banned discount service Uber X, but argued new entrants were meeting demand for more affordable services.

"Despite operating outside of the regulatory framework, Uber has increased competition in the Queensland taxi market, providing customers with the ability to choose an alternative to regular taxis," the report says.

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The taxi industry has been lobbying the Queensland Government to ramp up its crackdown on Uber X, which it claims is unsafe.

Bumper stickers have recently begun appearing on the back of taxis in the south-east, warning customers not to trust the popular ride-sharing alternatives.

The EPG, however, appears to reject any safety concerns in its report.

"While passenger safety has been cited as a key reason for regulating ride-sharing applications, the safety risks associated with Uber are potentially minimal," it said.

"Uber currently requires drivers to obtain a general DA [driver authorisation], which includes a criminal background, driver history and medical check.

"Passengers are covered under compulsory third-party [CTP] insurance arrangements.

"Uber also claims that all trips are also covered by a $US5 million contingent liability insurance policy."

Brad Kitchske, Uber's director of public policy, seized on the report's findings.

"I think the key message is that Queensland is missing out ... and there needs to be immediate reform," Mr Kitschke told 7.30.

"The answer to regulating isn't to lock things down and restrict competition, it's in fact to open it up and allow the market to provide better results to consumers."

Taxi Council of Queensland CEO Benjamin Walsh said in a statement that the document from the EPG was an internal discussion paper and should not be taken seriously.

"It appears to have been written by a group of graduates and it has no bearing whatsoever on government policy," Mr Walsh said.

"No consultation was done with industry or any other stakeholder, and the entire premise on which this paper is based is completely false."

Taxi licences struggling to sell in uncertain market

As the battle between the business models rages on, Brisbane woman Sandra Hall is caught in the crossfire.

The 69-year-old bought a taxi licence with her husband 20 years ago in the hope of funding a comfortable retirement, but that now looks unlikely.

"This time last year we could have sold it for $560,000 and now nobody is interested in buying them," she said.

"We've advertised it for sale and got nothing. No response whatsoever."

Ms Hall said she blamed Uber for disrupting the industry and frightening potential investors.

"Why would anybody buy into something that has such an uncertainty to it? Every business has risk but this is ridiculous risk," she said.

"We don't have a problem with Uber being there, but they should be playing by the same rules we play by."

Queensland's Taxi Strategic Plan is due to expire this year, raising questions about whether the Government will consider giving the green light to Uber X when regulations come under review.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk was quizzed about her stance on ride-sharing by a caller to 612 ABC Brisbane on Wednesday morning and was sympathetic to taxi licence holders.

"The concern with Uber is that although it is incredibly popular out there — a lot of young people love it, they love the convenience — we need to have a level playing field in this state," she said.

"It's not fair that people have put their life savings into a licence. We have taxi drivers out there doing the right thing and now you have a new player onto the field."

Crackdown on Uber X has critics within government

Transport inspectors in Queensland have been tasked with catching Uber X drivers and issuing them with fines of around $1,700.

To do this, transport inspectors go undercover as passengers, downloading the Uber app and booking a ride.

However, as revealed by 7.30 in January, Uber has been keeping a record of accounts linked to transport inspectors' phones and is blocking those users from accessing the app.

As a result, the Department of Transport and Main Roads has been forced to continually buy new phones at taxpayers' expense.

In its report to the Department of Premier and Cabinet, commissioned during the caretaker period before January's state election, the EPG is critical of the compliance activity.

"While the Department of Transport and Main Roads has continued to investigate Uber drivers and take compliance action against drivers that are not meeting regulatory requirements, this compliance action has not been effective in stopping Uber's operations," the report said.

Emails obtained by 7.30 through a Right to Information request showed bureaucrats within the department itself also believed the crackdown was failing.

"Do we get a sense from the 'word on the street' that the action we are currently undertaking is having an effect?" asks Graham Faine in an email to colleagues.

"No," replies Nick Marsden, "It appears the Uber business is still expanding."

"How long is [the department] prepared to continue to throw resources at this activity?" asks Lance Maxwell.

Queensland Transport Minister Jackie Trad was unavailable for an interview.

Uber said today all prosecutions against its drivers in New South Wales had been withdrawn at least until the State Government had completed a review of point-to-point transport.