‘Like the first step on the moon’: Luxembourg makes history as first country with free public transport

The last opportunity to pay the nationwide €2 (£1.70) flat fare was on bus number 6 in a suburb of the capital at 11.59pm on Friday 28 February. “It’s fantastic,” said one of the first beneficiaries: Rosalind Brown, a marketing and communications specialist who has lived in the capital for 22 years. Marija from Croatia, who works in a bar, said: “We pay high taxes, so it’s good to get something back.” Among many Luxembourgers, though, the move will make little difference to their travel plans: only one in five commuters currently uses public transport. There are fears that some of them may drive just across the border and park in a small town or villages, then jump on a free bus or train to reach their workplace. But the deputy prime minister said that Luxembourg’s government has spent €120m (£103m) across across the border in France to improve rail links and lure commuters from car to train.

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