Luxembourg’s new cabinet plans to make all public transit in the country free, starting next summer. That includes trains, buses and trams.
The country, smallest member of the EU and one of the most densely-populated also has some of the worst traffic. The capital, Luxembourg City, adds 400,000 daily commuters to its population of 110,000, and 200,000 people cross the border each day from France, Belgium and Germany to work in the country. It’s estimated that every capital resident spends dozens of hours a year in traffic jams.
The new measure is designed to make public transit a desirable alternative to sitting in a car for hours. The costs will be paid from tax revenues, but are not likely to cause much grumbling because of the savings in time and cash from getting out of the car.
No decision yet on what to do about the first- and second-class sections on the railroads, which will now make little sense because there’s nothing to pay, let alone extra!