On 12 November 1970, the municipal council voted to establish a limited company to finance the bridge. Askøybrua AS was founded with a share capital of NOK 775,000 and owned by the municipalities of Askøy, Laksevåg, Åsane, Fjell, Sund and Øygarden, Hordaland County Municipality and Rutelaget Askøy–Bergen—the latter who operated all the islands bus routes and the ferry. During the council meeting, representatives for the municipal administration commented that 85 percent of the people from Askøy who worked outside the municipality worked in the city center of Bergen; they were transported quickly with ferries which were not hampered by congestion. Should a bridge be built, it would only be able to be financed if people traveled using the bridge, and therefore terminating the ferry, even though it provided a superior service, was proposed.