These companies compete for public ferry service contracts (route-by-route, not for entire networks), and are chosen on the strength of their bids on aspects such as o Emissions – do the operators meet the government requirement for zero-emission operation o Reliability – which service proposal and ships offer the greatest service reliability o Frequency – which service proposal offers the greatest frequency or other timetable improvements over-and-above the minimum requirement o Capacity – which service proposal best meets the demand needs of the route o Timetable – which service proposal offers the best timetable options, in terms of length of operating day and so on o Value for money – in the context of all of the above, which proposal gives best value-for money to the public purse (Fares are fixed by government, so effectively they find the operator who can operate the service for the lowest level of subsidy) • The Norwegian ferry system has been optimised over decades around principles aimed at cost-effective and efficient operation: o Route optimisation.