Fee club on Lake Constance: Bregenz collects 45,000 euros for berth waiting list

On 25 November, the city council of Bregenz decided on an annual fee for people who are on the waiting list for a boat mooring. It is called the "registration fee" and amounts to 30 euros per year. With 1,500 interested parties currently on the list, this could bring 45,000 euros a year into the city's coffers.

Anyone who wants to remain on the waiting list for one of the highly coveted berths must pay by 9 January - or be cancelled. This is reported by the Vorarlberg Online magazine VOL.at citing an information letter from the city dated 9 December. The city of Bregenz justifies the introduction with the administrative effort involved in the ongoing management, review and entry into the waiting lists, including the allocation and all related information.

Long waiting times for boat moorings

The situation for boat owners on Lake Constance has been tense for years. There are only around 28,000 moorings for every 52,000 boats registered for the lake. The shortage is particularly drastic in Germany, where there are almost twice as many boats as berths. In Switzerland and Austria, the ratio is somewhat more balanced, but there is still a shortage of 3-25% of berths in each region. In all three countries, waiting times of at least 15 years must be expected.

Fees as a consequence of rising demand

According to the city of Bregenz, there are currently around 1,500 applicants on the waiting list for a berth. In 2019, there were still around 440 waiting. The situation is similarly difficult in the neighbouring municipalities. Waiting times of ten to 25 years are not uncommon for those who want to get a berth in one of the city's two harbours.

The City of Bregenz emphasises that a deliberate reduction in the waiting list is not the aim of the measure. Rather, the aim is to reduce the administrative burden. According to the city's communications department, it remains to be seen whether people will voluntarily remove themselves from the list - this can "only be ascertained from those affected". The fee is intended to cover the costs of managing the extensive waiting list, including all associated activities such as allocating and providing information.

Mixed reactions

When asked by VOL.at, the city's communications department emphasised that the applicants had been informed about the new fee and that many had probably already expected such a measure. So far, there has been no feedback to the city administration.

Urs Hämmerle, President of the Bregenz Sailing Club (BSC), commented on the new fee to the online magazine: "Personally, I think that fees like this will certainly lead to the list becoming smaller." The waiting list will become more focussed and only those who actually want a berth will be on it. At the same time, he is unsure about the appropriateness of the fee: "I don't know whether the fee is justified. I can't judge whether there is really so much administrative work involved."

The BSC president also points out that the fee does not only affect wealthy boat owners: "People always say it's a luxury problem if you charge a fee to someone who can afford a boat." The 60 per cent increase in fees three years ago was also labelled as such. "But there are also many small people waiting for a place with a gundel. They don't have a large yacht and simply want to enjoy the lake in their own way," emphasises Hämmerle. "You penalise them with this."

Bregenz is not an isolated case

The news caused an uproar on social media. "Greed", "cheek" and "rip-off" are just some of the terms used to describe the new charges in Bregenz. Others, on the other hand, find them "completely normal". In fact, the Lake Constance neighbours handle berth management differently, but it is not unusual for interested parties to have to pay for a place on the waiting list.

In Switzerland, for example, entry in the waiting list costs between 50 and 80 euros for most harbours or municipalities, and many incur additional costs - annually or when the entry is renewed after five years.

Similarly on the German side: here, for example, an annual fee of 25 euros has also been payable for the waiting list in the municipality of Bodman-Ludwigshafen since 1 January 2024. Bodensee-Schiffsbetriebe GmbH, a subsidiary of Stadtwerke Konstanz, manages around 350 berths in the harbours in Constance, Friedrichshafen, Meersburg, Lindau, Ludwigshafen and at the western landing stage in Überlingen. It also maintains a waiting list for which a fee is charged. However, there is only a one-off administrative fee of 35 euros for inclusion on this list - or rather, it would be if the list were not closed until further notice. The demand far exceeds the supply, and no further interested parties are accepted.

In Austria, applicants in Lochau are also asked to pay to join the waiting list, but only once. The other municipalities on the Austrian side of the lake - Hard, Fussach, Höchst and Gaißau - report on their websites about the extremely long waiting times and waiting lists, but do not mention any fees for registering or remaining on the waiting list. It remains to be seen whether the Bregenz example will also set a precedent in the other municipalities on the eastern shore of the lake.