Pensacola’s new ferry service began on June 22nd, and the National Park Service said more than 5,600 passengers have traveled from downtown to Pensacola Beach on the two, 150-passenger through August 30th. George Aswad, whose company operates the ferries under a contract with the park service, said he needs the ridership numbers to grow for the venture to succeed. He said the company is reducing its schedule to weekends only through November 4th because of a lack of demand. Service is scheduled to return in March if Aswad and the park service can reach an agreement on a new contract.