service.

A three-week trial of a later 6 p.m. ferry to Somerset has ended and Marine and Ports officials said there will be no continuation of the route.

Around 20 people a night used the extra service, which ran after the usual 5.30 p.m. ferry.

But the numbers were nowhere near the target of 50 needed to make officials consider keeping it on.

The route cost Marine and Ports $300 a night to run and assistant director Mike Dolding said the numbers being carried only generated around $15 a night.

He said if 50 people a night had used the ferry, then his department would have considered asking the Ministry of Finance to review the situation.

The return, coupled with the slight effect of taking those people off the roads, was not worth the cost, he said.

The trial was put on after requests from commuters to keep the summer 6 p.m.

service running after its usual October termination.

It is laid on during the summer to lessen the load of tourists returning to cruise ships moored in Dockyard.