Government needs to do more to encourage people to travel by water in an attempt to ease congestion on Bermuda’s roads.This is the view of Opposition politicians who told the Upper House they want to see more being done to increase the number of locals and tourists using ferries.Senators voiced concerns about the low numbers of people using ferries as they passed the fare increase on the reinstated weekend and holiday ferry schedule on the pink route.Junior National Security Minister Jonathan Smith said the route, which calls at Paget and Warwick, was decreased in April due to cost-saving measures.Senator Smith said with about 109,000 passengers per year the pink route fare would double to $5 per journey “to offset the increase in running costs”. Regular bus and ferry tokens will no longer be accepted on the route from next month.He said if they attract the same number of passengers, it was hoped the revenue would “match the projected increase in expenses pretty much dollar for dollar”.The fare increases were unanimously passed in the Senate under The Marine Board (Ferry Services Fares) Amendment Regulations.Shadow National Security Minister Michael Dunkley said although no one liked price increases, he said he welcomed the reinstated services. However, he questioned why more people weren’t using the ferries.He said: “We believe the ferry service needs to play a vital part in public transport.“But ferries seem to be an under-utilised resource”.Senator Dunkley went on to explain that ferry journeys should be promoted as a way to “detox and de-stress” after work.He said: “We’re surrounded by water and have a great opportunity to take people off our roads by using our water.“Why is ridership so low? What are we doing to encourage more people to use public transport?“You only have to see the traffic coming in from the west end, all the traffic backs up. It makes good common sense to take people off the roads and into ferries”.Sen Dunkley added that getting the private sector involved in ferry transportation would “take the financial strain off Government”.Shadow Health Minister Kathy Michelmore said it was a relief to see the pink route reinstated, but she said it shouldn’t stop there.She said: “We have to improve public transport use by trying to balance the usage between locals and tourists.“We don’t have the volumes necessary so the prices have gone up. If we are trying to sustain services by pushing up fares, we are going to have the reverse effect.“We have to think more broadly about the issue of congestion and the traffic travelling into Hamilton.”Independent Senator Walwyn Hughes said it was “woeful” that ferries were “a public service that run at a loss”.He said: “Why hasn’t this cost been spread across all ferry services?“Those with the shortest ride are paying the most, which doesn’t seem right. It should be spread more evenly across services.”Sen Hughes said he would like to see Bermuda “looking more like Vancouver Harbour” where he said everyone hailed down water taxis to get around.He said: “It seems like there’s an ideal opportunity for someone or some group to put water taxis in place.“It really would be nice to see someone pick this up and put it into place”.Mr Smith said the advances of Bermuda’s ferries, with new ferries and new routes, were one of Government’s “success stories”.He said: “The question is, can more be done? Yes more can be done. We will continue to consult with the public on new routes.”Sen Smith added they would continue to try to encourage water taxis but were reliant on the private sector wanting to help.In comparison with the 2010 summer schedule, the pink route service will be reduced by four round trips on Saturday and three round trips on Sundays and public holidays.Additionally, the Monday to Friday schedule has been amended to include two extra runs departing Hamilton terminal at 11am and 12 noon.