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The Coastal Ferry Act (section 38) sets out six principles which the Commission is to follow in the course of its regulatory activities. These serve to define what is meant by the public interest in the provision of coastal ferry services:
(a) priority is to be placed on the financial sustainability of the ferry operators;
(b) ferry operators are to be encouraged to adopt a commercial approach to ferry service delivery;
(c) ferry operators are to be encouraged to seek additional or alternative service providers on designated ferry routes through fair and open competitive processes;
(d) ferry operators are to be encouraged to minimize expenses without adversely affecting their safe compliance with core ferry services;
(e) cross subsidization from major routes to other designated ferry routes is (i) to be eliminated within the first performance term of the first Coastal Ferry Services Contract to be entered into under this Act, and (ii) before its elimination, to be minimized;
(f) the designated ferry routes are to move towards a greater reliance on a user pay system so as to reduce, over time, the service fee contributions by the government.
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