The Tuapeka Mouth Ferry will no longer cross the Clutha River on statutory holidays.
The ferry, also called the Tuapeka Mouth Punt, is funded by the Clutha District Council and is used much like a bridge.
It operates between 8am and 10am, and 4pm and 6pm daily, and until recently, crossed on statutory holidays.
The council communications co-ordinator, Jamie Shaw, said that records showed the use on statutory holidays these days was ''generally very low''.
Last Christmas Day, two cars and one utility vehicle used the ferry, and one car used it on Boxing Day.
On January 1 it carried one car and two utes, and on January 2, just two utes.
''In consultation with the contractor who operates the ferry, we felt it was not fair to ask the ferry operators to work on Christmas Day or any other public holidays given this low usage.''
The ferry is believed to be the last water-driven public punt in the southern hemisphere.
