The cost of catching a cab in Sydney should fall, and finding a taxi should become easier, under a proposed overhaul of Sydney's taxi licensing scheme.

However, the plan could affect the value of existing licences, held as investments.

Call for change ... most taxi licences are owned by investors not drivers. Credit:Rob Homer

The state's pricing body, which advises the government on how to set fares as well as the number of taxis on the streets, says a new model is needed for regulating taxi numbers in Sydney.

In an issues paper released this morning, it says that attempts over the past three years to improve the industry by issuing more licences have not worked. Not enough licences were released.