Luxembourg became only country introduced free public transport system.
Luxembourg, a laid-back European country with a population of about 614,000 people, recently in headlines for introducing the world’s first nationwide free public transport system starting March 1, 2020.
Apart from first class rail passengers, this innovative initiative covers buses, trams and trains and allows both locals and visitors to ride ticketless.
Despite being called free transport, this service is very expensive. More than 500 million. 41 million taxpayers will bear the cost of missing ticket sales. Nevertheless, transport employees will continue to work, albeit for shorter shifts, representing a major change in transport financing and access.
Purpose of Larger Project
There are several justifications for choosing to undertake this massive project. First, by raising taxes on high income earners, it acts as a social policy to redistribute wealth.
Additionally, since Luxembourg has the highest per capita car ownership rate among EU countries, it addresses the country’s growing traffic congestion problem.
It aims to encourage a 20% increase in public transport use over the next five years by removing financial barriers, therefore increasing environmental awareness and reducing carbon emissions.
Despite challenges related to operations and infrastructure, Luxembourg’s bold move towards sustainable transport through free public transport marks an important step in reducing environmental damage and increasing social well-being.
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