Independent taxi drivers want better access to traffic from cruise ships that dock in Charlottetown. Independent taxi drivers want better access to traffic from cruise ships that dock in Charlottetown. (Lenny Jackson/CBC)

Charlottetown city council wants the the city's harbour authority to consider the needs of independent taxi drivers who want better access to cruise ship passengers.

The drivers have been pushing the authority to allow them to solicit business from passengers inside the wharf's security fence. Currently, they have to stay outside the fence, with only transportation firms approved by the cruise lines allowed to jockey for business.

Mayor Clifford Lee says he hopes the harbour authority and the independent drivers will put aside their differences.

"Council asked that I send a letter off to the harbour authority expressing our concern about the current situation and asking that they come together, the two bodies, and resolve their differences and hopefully allow the taxi industry to be able to take advantage of the cruise business," he said.

The harbour authority is meeting Wednesday to discuss the issue. Harbour authority CEO Les Parsons has been researching how other ports handle similar situations.

In the past the harbour authority has refused the driver's requests and even threatened to bar them outright. The drivers pay only $25 a year to park on the wharf, while the authorized tour operators inside the fence must give 30 per cent of their fares to the cruise lines.