The Main ferry between Maintal Dörnigheim and Mühlheim is about to end. The district committee from the Offenbach district has voted for the end. The citizens’ initiative is furious. That is the background.
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- District committee of the Offenbach district advocates the end of the ferry
- Main ferry connected Mühlheim and Main valley Dörnigheim
- The citizens’ initiative is furious
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The ferry station in Maintal Dörnigheim can look back on almost 120 years of history. Now this story seems to be finally coming to an end – which is particularly bad for the supporters of the ferry connection. As the Offenbach district announced in a press release on Tuesday afternoon, the district committee has spoken out in favor of permanently stopping the ferry service.
This does not mean that ferry services have been abolished. The final decision of the district council is still missing. After the first attempt to restart the ferry operation in the summer and the subsequent tender for the ferry operation failed, the Offenbach district examined the takeover on its own.
Several interested ferries had reported to the Offenbach district about the Main ferry
These plans have now finally failed: “All alternatives have failed because of the question of the staff,” says the circle’s statement. “It turned out that the ferry connection cannot be easily established and the operation of this ferry model is technically demanding. It became clear again and again that there is no market for the search for ferries with a patent. ”
Mühlheim’s Mayor Daniel Tybussek (CDU) explains that although nine interested parties had registered within the past few months, only two of them had met the necessary requirements. Upon closer examination, however, it turned out that a prospect with negative reports about an already failed operation of another ferry connection had become conspicuous. Out of nine applicants, only one ferryman would have been qualified, but three to four ferryman were necessary for adequate operation.
Legislation slows down the Offenbach district when it operates the Main ferry itself
Therefore, the idea arose to train personnel themselves. According to the final report of the district to the Main ferry, it was not possible to find trainers. The report also says: “In addition, the ferry would not be able to operate reliably for at least another year and there would be no possibility of contractually binding the trained ferries to this ferry connection!” For this reason, this option was not pursued further. In addition to the personnel problems, there are also financial difficulties. According to the business plan drawn up for the report, the ferry would generate an annual deficit of approximately € 183,000.
However, the decisive argument against taking the ferry over into own operation is the legal situation. According to Section 121, Paragraph Three of the Hessian Municipal Code (HGO), municipalities may only operate economically if “the purpose is not just as well and economically fulfilled by a private third party, or cannot be achieved.”
There are several arguments in favor of the Offenbach district against operating the Main ferry
According to Paragraph 52 of the Hessian District Ordinance (HKO), this provision also applies to the counties. The district sees a legal risk in the paragraph mentioned and refers to the Rumpenheimer ferry, which functions as a private company without public subsidies. “Against this background, the operation of a competitive offer with substantial public subsidies cannot be justified, especially since there is no reliable evidence that the capacity of the Rumpenheim ferry connection would not be sufficient. To make matters worse, the personnel deployed would have to be paid significantly higher than usual due to the market situation, ”says the report.
Long campaigned for the ferry: Maintal Mayor Monika Böttcher, MKK District Administrator Thorsten Stolz, Offenbach District Administrator Oliver Quilling and Mühlheim Mayor Daniel Tybussek.
© Jan Max Gepperth (archive)
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The result: “Due to the immense public subsidy requirement of at least EUR 183,040 with a manageable number of users and at the same time there is an alternative offer (ferry Rumpenheim), it is recommended to permanently abandon the ferry connection and to stop further efforts to recruit staff.”
Klaus Seibert criticizes the Offenbach district for the ferry
With the Citizens’ Initiative Main ferry the recommendation of the district committee is misunderstood. Klaus Seibert, member of the citizens’ initiative (BI) and deputy group leader of the election alternative Maintal – Social Justice (WAM) gives free rein to his anger and describes the decision as an affront: “I see it as a deliberate act that trample on the will of the citizens . It gives the impression that the decommissioning of the ferry was the real goal from the start of the debate. ”
Seibert recalls the statements made by the Offenbach district in October 2017. At that time, ferry operations were discontinued due to safety deficiencies. The district then questioned the continued operation of the ferry and made it dependent on its financing. “Only later were difficulties with the former operators, technical difficulties and lack of financial participation of the cities of Maintal and Mühlheim as well as the Main-Kinzig district saddled up later,” said Seibert. “Proposals from the citizens’ initiative, from various factions in the city parliaments and district councils were repeatedly rejected.”
Mühlheim’s mayor also finds the setting of the Main ferry by the Offenbach district a shame
The deputy group leader of the WAM also criticized the way in which the solution was found and described it as secret diplomacy: “A conversation recently took place between the two districts and cities, the course of which the public once again found out nothing about. How could it be otherwise, the citizens’ initiative was not involved again. ”Both the municipalities involved and the two districts denied that such a meeting took place.
However, the decision-makers do not seem to be satisfied that the ferry service should now be permanently discontinued. Tybussek explains: “I have good memories from my childhood or with my own children to go for a walk on the Main, to take the ferry to the other side and to visit the playground there, for example. In this respect, the decision made is very regrettable and, above all, not an easy one. Until the end, everyone involved worked on the resumption. Unfortunately, acting responsibly also means having to make unpleasant decisions. The known lack of framework conditions (personnel, economy, etc.) unfortunately leaves no other choice here. ”
Maintal only wants to comment on the Main ferry after the decision of the Offenbach district
The Main-Kinzig district also shows understanding for the decision. “The decision comes as no surprise when you look at developments over the past few months,” said press spokesman John Mewes. An attempt was made to find a solution, but failed. The facts were presented in a conclusive and understandable manner in the final report of the Offenbach district. “Therefore we have nothing to add to the decision and will not contradict it,” said Mewes.
When asked, Maintal’s press spokeswoman Martina Faust confirmed that they preferred to find a private operator with the relevant experience and sufficiently trained ferry operators to operate the ferry. Nevertheless, one is reluctant to make clear statements in Maintal. “The district committee has responded to the unsuccessful efforts in the past few months to keep the ferry running. This must first be discussed by the district council. Only then is the official position of the Offenbach district established, which the city of Maintal can comment on, ”says the Maintaler Rathaus.
The final decision on the future of the Main ferry, which is currently still in Frankfurt’s Osthafen, will be made on June 24thm Offenbach district council. Should the operation not be continued, the ferry MS Dörnigheim and the associated ancillary facilities are to be sold or disposed of.
Source: Hanauer scoreboard
Rubric list image: © Jan Max Gepperth (archive)
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