Luxembourg becomes the first country to offer a free public transport system as the government tries to reduce particularly dense car traffic. The country abolished the fares for trains, trams and buses on February 29.
All standard-class journeys on public transport in the European country are now free of charge compared to an annual pass worth 440 euros ($485) before. Travellers can still pay for first-class at a cost of 660 euros a year.
‘For people with low incomes or the minimum wage, for them, it’s really substantial,’ transport minister Francois Bausch told Reuters.
He said the main motive behind this move is to provide a better quality of mobility and also reduce fossil fuel combustion.
The country’s half of greenhouse gas emissions come from transport.
Luxembourg has a population of over 600,000 but 214,000 more travel in for work every day from neighbouring Germany, France and Belgium resulting in massive traffic jams as most of them commute via cars.
In this country, private cars are the most used form of transport.
According to a 2018 survey by TNS Ilres, cars accounted for 47% of business travel and 71% of leisure.
Buses are used for only 32% of trips to work, followed by trains, which account for 19%.
To cope with the number of commuters, Luxembourg plans to invest 3.9 billion euros in railways from 2018-28, upgrade the bus network and add more park-and-ride sites on the border.
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