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Luxembourg abolishes fares for public transit

Posted at 2:19 PM, Feb 29, 2020
and last updated 2020-02-29 14:19:32-05

Luxembourg has abolished fares for trains, trams and buses in what the government says is a bid to tackle road congestion and pollution, as well as supporting low earners.

All standard-class journeys on public transport in the tiny and wealthy European country are now free of charge, compared to an annual pass worth $485 before.

Luxembourg has just over 600,000 inhabitants, but 214,000 more travel in for work every day from neighboring Germany, Belgium and France, causing heavy traffic jams as the majority of workers commute by car.

To cope with the many commuters, Luxembourg plans to invest $4 million in railways until 2028, upgrade the bus network and add more park-and-ride sites on the border.

Despite these investments, the government expects 65% of commuters to still get to work by car in 2025, down from 73% in 2017.