and free buses to the ferries are being abandoned. These were designed to encourage people to use the ferries and to reduce traffic on the temporary causeway constructed amid controversy to handle Somerset Bridge traffic while the much publicised "smallest drawbridge in the world'' is repaired and replaced.

Now we are told that there was no noticeable increase in people using the "commuter run''. It seems clear to us that the trial has not been in effect long enough to produce increased traffic and, in any case, Somerset Bridge was still in operation during the trial. People are not likely to change their habits until there is inconvenience.

It takes both time and extensive publicity to get people to change the way they have been doing things for years. They are not likely all to get up one morning and decide to take the ferry unless, of course, it is more convenient for them to do so. We think that chopping and changing the ferry schedule is at the core of attempts to get people off the roads and on the water. That will never happen unless the ferry schedule is reliable and the service at times which suit the commuters.

The 5:20 p.m. West End ferry is very early for people working in Hamilton where the hours of opening are being both extended and varied. Even if someone works in a business which is guaranteed to close at 5 p.m. and where they are guaranteed not to have to stay late, the 5:20 ferry is a rush. First of all very few people can be guaranteed instant 5 p.m. closing today and if they have to stay on, how do they get back to the West End? Faced with that question they drive to Hamilton.

Now it appears that the 6 p.m. commuter ferry which also serves the cruise ship berthed at Dockyard, may not stop at Somerset Bridge or Cavello Bay yet Cavello Bay is probably the most used stop for local commuters. Surely that does not make very much sense. If a commuter is delayed from using the 5.20 and then the 6 p.m. does not stop at their stop they are again forced onto the rush hour roads.

If Bermuda is serious about getting people to use the ferries then we must do a survey to find what service people want and when. We then have to agree that there are benefits to the use of ferries other than the fares collected.

Public transportation which suits the public need may not all be profitable.

For instance, other than serving commuters, a ferry ride is one of the most attractive and delightful things a visitor can do in Bermuda. Today's Bermuda is at its most attractive from the water.

We chop and change but we do not seem to get the ferry schedule right. It may well be time for a study of what the public needs and what will best serve Bermuda both as transport and as an aid to the environment.