 Whilst the SEG began to gradually close its tram lines in 1929 due to differences with the city of Wiesbaden, the Essen tramway remained at the heart of the SEG, in which the city of Essen in 1933 had 66% of the shares.Although early on, buses were used as a backup for rail services and to extend the branch lines, they only produced meagre profits compared with the tramways, so that the SEG endeavoured not to renew concessions when they expired.They invited the German Reich to take over the Worms-Offstein Railway, because its concession was running out on 1 December 1936.