Leeds City Cruisers has been forced to shelve its peak-time Monday to Friday trips between Clarence Dock and Victoria Bridge because of lack of passengers, which made it financially unviable.

Ian Livingstone, joint director of the business, said empty premises at Clarence Dock were partly to blame for the lack of customers since the service started on June 16.

They had expected many more shops and businesses, including the £13m Alea casino – proposing to employ 160 workers and attract around 6,000 visitors a week – to be up and running at the huge £260m development before the eco-friendly Black Prince took to the water.

Mr Livingstone said: "We have trialled it for a month and uptake was pretty much zero.

"One of the main problems with residents is an awful lot are working flexi-time and because Clarence Dock is not as full of commercial residents as was proposed by this time this year, obviously footfall is affected."

He added: "It's just not sustainable at this time."

The weekend services for shoppers and visitors will continue, as will the private functions, and Mr Livingstone hopes that when footfall increases at Clarence Dock they could reinstate the 20-minute commuter journeys.

Mr Livingstone said crew wages alone cost the firm £700 a week so they couldn't afford to run an empty boat any longer than they already had.

They needed to carry at least 15 people per trip – at £2 each - for it to be worthwhile.

He said Leeds City Council had encouraged them to provide the service as part of its Leeds Waterfront Strategy but added: "We are not blaming anybody, it's just one of those things."

He said the firm was now in talks with potential funders who they hoped could help steer the venture into calmer waters.

Council leader Richard Brett (Lib-Dem, Burmantofts & Richmond Hill) is one of the few who did try out the commuter service and said he was "disappointed" it had been discontinued.

"I'm pleased they are keeping going at weekends because it's quite an addition to the tourist offer that Leeds has."

A council spokeswoman said: "We have always been supportive of the waterbus idea as an alternative form of transport and are working with partners in Aire Action Leeds to look at ways to improve access to and along the waterfront and raise its profile."

The Alea casino was supposed to open in December last year but is now not expected to launch until September.

A British Waterways spokesman said from September developer Crosby Lend Lease would be running an "extensive" events programme to attract visitors to Clarence Dock.