Sustainable Mobility to the City Port

PRESS RELEASE (Translation by deepl.com)

Gelsenkirchen, March 14, 2025 – The City Port of Gelsenkirchen is to become more accessible via environmentally friendly modes of transport. This goal is shared by the City of Gelsenkirchen, the Science Park Gelsenkirchen, BOGESTRA, the North Westphalia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IHK Nord Westfalen), and the Rhine-Ruhr Transport Association (VRR), who have signed a joint declaration of intent. The plan is to survey local company employees and analyse their places of residence. Based on the findings, targeted measures will be developed to improve the public transport offering and bridge the so-called "last mile" – from the transit stop to the workplace.

"Accessibility is a key location factor, especially given the growing shortage of skilled labour and increasing climate awareness," explains Lars Baumgürtel, Vice President of IHK Nord Westfalen and spokesperson for the "Klimahafen Gelsenkirchen" initiative. Most of the approximately 2,000 employees in the industrial area currently commute by car due to a lack of alternatives. "Sustainable mobility options strengthen our attractiveness as an employer," he emphasises. Baumgürtel, whose company ZINQ is located at the city port, particularly has employees without their own car in mind – such as many apprentices.

"Industrial areas are usually designed for car access," says VRR CEO Oliver Wittke. In contrast, public transport links are often inadequate. Yet, due to the high number of jobs, such locations offer great potential for shifting traffic from private cars to buses and trains. "With the Klimahafen project, we are creating a blueprint that can help improve accessibility for other industrial zones in the region," Wittke stresses.

"This joint project makes an important contribution to the mobility transition and strengthens the region’s economic position," adds Christoph Heidenreich, City Planning Officer for Gelsenkirchen. "We will incorporate the findings from the employee survey into the upcoming update of the local transport plan," he promises. In addition, further mobility options should be explored to improve access to the city port. From BOGESTRA’s point of view, it is not only about enhancing public transport offerings, but also about increasing the number of users. "The Germany Job Ticket enables employers to offer their staff an attractive financial incentive to use buses and trains, contributing to the retention of skilled workers," explains Jörg Filter, BOGESTRA Board Member for HR, Operations, and Infrastructure.

"For several years now, we have been supporting our member companies in implementing systematic workplace mobility management," says Dr. Jana Burchard, Head of the Industry and Infrastructure Division at IHK Nord Westfalen. She welcomes the exemplary cooperation between the Chamber, public authorities, and private businesses in the city port: "Implementing a mobility concept for an industrial area requires this kind of broad partnership." The “Klimahafen Gelsenkirchen” initiative is coordinated by the Science Park Gelsenkirchen on behalf of the city. "We support both companies and the city in their climate protection efforts," emphasises Managing Director Wolfgang Jung. He also sees potential in the “Intelligent City Challenge (ICC)”, which provides an opportunity to make this commitment visible. Gelsenkirchen is one of four German “Core Cities” in this European Commission initiative, which supports cities in the green and digital transformation of their local economies. A central element is the creation of Local Green Deals, where individual stakeholders or partner groups publicly commit to climate protection and sustainability goals and agree on specific actions.

For media inquiries:

Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) North Westphalia
Press Office
Sentmaringer Weg 61
48151 Münster
www.ihk.de/nordwestfalen
Phone: +49 251 707-232
Email: pressestelle@ihk-nordwestfalen.de

Klimahafen Gelsenkirchen
c/o Science Park Gelsenkirchen
Munscheidstr. 14
45886 Gelsenkirchen

Contacts:
Wolfgang Jung
T: +49 173 2530406

Timo Schenkhorst
T: +49 163 3169128