Main trade routes support liners from many shipping lines, and thus it is hard for free taders (tramps) to find work. Hefry, however, is a small non-industrial world off the main trade route to Regina. No liners pass through the small spaceport, and only rarely do ships over 400 tons arrive and depart. Traders abound and Hefry is not is not so far out on the frontier that profits are low. In fact, shipments of ore can occasionally bring a tidy profit if belters underestimate the value of a shipment.
Normally the Tramp Freight Market is about 10-20% of the total shipping market, but Hefry is an exception. This is partly because its spaceport is small (although growing), and partly because it is only 50 years old. In time, the liners will arrive, but for now it is a haven for free traders. One of the oldest and most successful free traders is CAPT Beowulf, who can often be found visiting his aunt's "famous" establishment, The Breakfast Bar.
There are also Amber and Red zone worlds nearby. Cargoes to Amber worlds bring double freight rate and double crew pay, and Red Zone deliveries bring quintuple freight and quintuple crew pay, assuming trade is legal. Hazard pay, as the increased crew pay is called, can not only be lucrative but brings respect in the taverns and spaceports...when runs are survived.
It is possible to accept a freight cargo and then "subcontract freight" if a better offer comes up. The original accepter, however, assumes some liability to his or her reputation if the subcontractor fails to deliver the cargo on time and in good condition.
Special handling cargo brings a premium over freight rate but is generally riskier. These cargo categories include biohazard, corrosive, explosive, flammable, fragile, living, perishable, psionic, radioactive, and valuable.
On main routes, passengers wanting to ride tramps are those who cannot afford a liner because ony Middle and High Passage remain, made arrangements too late and cannot wait, or have some other special circumstance. On Hefry all passengers ride the tramps and so a steady mix of High, Middle, and Low Passage passengers look for rides.
Even in a backwater system like Hefry, starships are expected to squawk identifiers inside of 100D of Hefry. (Outside this, space is Uncontrolled.) The region inside 100D is called Advisory Space and starships must check-in with Hefry Control on the published Guard Frequency as well as sqawk transponders. Progress will be monitored and hourly comms checks are normal, initiated on either end.
The Starport Control Zone extends in a 10 miles radius around Hefry Starport and up to 50,000' above the surface. Positive Control (vice Direct Control) is maintained within this cylinder of "airspace" and starships are given approach and departure courses, altitudes, and speeds. They cannot turn over direct control and have the Starport fly them in remotely as is done at some major starports. At Hefry, the starship captain flies as directed constantly on the lookout for mistakes by others.
Between these two zones is the Orbital Zone which extends from 10D downward to 50,000' above the surface. Within this zone, ships may request orbits. Once stable, ships within orbits are not required to make contact again until departing orbit but must continue to squawk.
Often between the surface and the Orbital Zone is a controlled region called the Airspace Zone (regardless of whether the world is a vacuum world or not). While this region exists on Hefry and is named, it is also Advisory. Ships are expected to watch out for each other, and Hefry Control will assist with this process but only hourly checks are required and Hefry Control is far more concerned with the safety of ships entering and departing the starport, than with often uncooperative belters hopping from dig to dig on a largely deserted globe.