According to information from the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal, (IPART) the average waiting time for a taxi in Wollongong is far lower than other large areas.

In Wollongong, the average wait time for people booking a taxi was just 90 seconds. This compares to five minutes in Newcastle and six minutes on the Central Coast.

Even in Sydney the wait time is longer than Wollongong with taxi customers in the big city having to wait six minutes for their ride.

However, the number of complaints made to Transport for NSW (TfNSW) about Wollongong taxi drivers went up in 2014.

In 2013, 23 complaints were lodged while 31 were made in the following year – an increase of 34per cent.

In the Central Coast complaints dropped sharply from 108 to 37.

Newcastle’s complaints fell too, though they are still at a staggeringly high level. In 2014, TfNSW fielded 370 complaints about Newcastle taxis.

There are 173 taxi licences in Newcastle, which equates to just over two complaints per licence.

By comparison, Wollongong has 136 licences. The information was contained in a final report that recommended a freeze on taxi fares for all areas outside Sydney until June 2016. The NSW government adopted that recommendation late last week.

After the decision earlier this year to also freeze fares in the Sydney area, this means there will be no increase in taxi fares throughout NSW in 2015-16.

NSW Taxi Council chief executive Roy Wakelin-King said the decision will benefit customers but he was concerned about its effect on drivers.

‘‘The setting of taxi fares is a delicate balancing act; on one hand the government needs fares to be competitive and accessible but it must also ensure that the taxi industry, which receives no subsidies from the state, remain viable into the future,’’ Mr Wakelin-King said.