the water services.

Since August 1996, the ridership of the St. George's to Hamilton and Dockyard ferry has risen from 1,958 to 4,057 during the summer.

It runs three times a week in the summer period and has become a very popular attraction for residents and tourists alike.

Marine and Ports assistant director Mike Dolding said the route was not the easiest to get into, but that had not deterred people from travelling -- including Seniors who don't have to pay.

He said the route had become established with hotels and cruise ships, and they would not be making any drastic changes next year.

Overall, August's ferry statistics for the whole Island show a slight drop.

The total number of passengers last month was 59,802, compared to 61,668 in 1997 and 65,211 in 1996.

On the Paget and Warwick routes there were 24,187 travellers, a drop of 659 on the same period last year. In 1996 there were 27,337 passengers on the service.

And on the West End service, 37,874 travelled in 1996, 36,822 in August 1997 -- compared to 35,615 this year.

GOVERNMENT GVT