The bridge company generates an annual profit of around 210 million euros – despite moderate rents and ticket prices
The company that operates the Frankfurt bridges takes in around 315 million euros annually and has expenses of just 105 million euros. It could easily generate higher revenues and also save more on costs than assumed in the current concept; but since the Frankfurt bridges are intended to serve the public good for the first 85 years of their existence, this profit potential will not be exploited.
Inflation, price increases, interest rate developments, etc. have not been taken into account in the following cost and revenue estimates. The cost estimates, particularly personnel costs, include room and other overhead costs per person on a pro rata basis.
The operating company's main sources of income are rents and transport tickets
1. Buildings: The administrative effort for the building area of the Frankfurter Brücken has been estimated with consideration of progressive digitization and AI support
The tasks of property management companies, such as ABG Frankfurt Holding, which carry out income checks in addition to the creditworthiness of tenants, will be made much easier in the future if proof of income can be made available digitally and evaluated by AI. The entire rental contract process will also become significantly less time-consuming through ongoing modernization, so that the current ratio of around 100 apartments to 200 apartments per property manager can be improved.
In contrast to the range of tasks of most large housing management companies, the building division of the Frankfurter Brücken-Betreibgesellschaft will not manage any new construction projects, but will deal exclusively with known existing properties.
However, since all bridge buildings are equipped with innovative technology and some of the bridge buildings are also being constructed using innovative methods, technically experienced facility managers are employed who also manage the awarding of services.
The maintenance costs of the newly built bridge buildings are comparatively low in the first 20 years after completion. Only regular maintenance, minor repairs and preventive measures are likely to be required. After around 25 years, the first maintenance cycle begins, which is borne by the public sector because the bridges are exclusively used for affordable housing and non-profit institutions or businesses with social benefits. The resulting increase in the value of the bridge buildings also means an easing of the operating company's maintenance budget.
2. The bridge body will be sold to the city of Frankfurt – but some elements will remain the responsibility of the operating company, and large parts of the infrastructure will need to be coordinated with the city’s units
3. The bridge surface, like the buildings, belongs to the bridge fund and is looked after by the operating company – the most important thing is the green areas on the bridges
Since the Frankfurt bridges enrich the lives of not only the bridge residents but also all Frankfurt citizens and also serve as a tourist magnet, not only the public areas on them but also the gardens of the houses are maintained by the operating company - especially since tenants of affordable housing cannot always be expected to have the means to maintain sophisticated gardening facilities. Anyone who wants to design and maintain their own garden can of course do so, but in consultation with and with the support of the operating company's gardeners to ensure an aesthetically pleasing image.
3. Bridge surface: The maintenance of the walking and driving paths is also the responsibility of the operating company, as is research into the urban climate effects of Frankfurt's bridges
4./5. In the area of line and energy management as well as energy controlling, costs of around 9.5 million euros per year are incurred
6. The operating company’s water management focuses on the provision of irrigation water – but with one important effect: making Frankfurt a water-sensitive city
The heart of the water management of the Frankfurt bridges is the ring pipeline, which collects rainwater, river water and excavation water and transports it to storage locations, from where it is distributed again for drainage on and along the bridges. The extraction and storage system must above all be equipped with appropriate filter and pumping devices. However, since this requires little maintenance immediately after the bridges are completed, the costs are averaged over the first 25 years before the first maintenance cycle begins.
7. The transport sector benefits from the fact that the system is an ongoing research project for the automotive industry
In addition, vehicles that drive autonomously in a centrally controlled system have the great advantage that the number of accidents and vehicle damage is close to zero, so that the usual repair costs are significantly lower than for conventional vehicles.
8. When it comes to disposal, the operating company cooperates with the Frankfurter Entsorgungsgesellschaft (FES)
The operating company is responsible for a total of three waste systems on the bridges: the Renomats in households, the disposal of residual waste through pneumatic waste pipes and the cleaning roundabouts, in which the enamelled steel containers and containers made of shatterproof glass are pre-cleaned by all restaurateurs on the Frankfurt bridges and then returned to the restaurateurs for reuse. While the operating company supports the FES with the disposal through the waste pipes and the Renomat system, the roundabouts with their cleaning, maintenance and logistics to the restaurateurs on the bridges only affect the bridge operation.
8. The area of culture and social affairs is primarily covered by cooperation partners who
There are 26 music pavilions, 20 hobby pop-ups, 2 opera stages, 2 theater stages as cultural anchor points on the Frankfurt bridges. The operating company selects cooperation partners for the cultural events in these spaces. The two homeless areas are also managed by cooperation partners (such as the railway station mission). For the IT college, educational providers are selected who work closely with the IT industry, and for the master academy, cooperations are entered into with master schools in Germany and internationally.
Since the bridge infrastructure will be sold to the city of Frankfurt after completion, the operating company must purchase electricity for its operating units from the municipal utility – even if the electricity is largely produced on the bridges
The operating company has to pay around 18 million euros annually for its infrastructure - the electricity consumption of the residents and businesses, on the other hand, is paid by them as normal additional rental costs.
