Luxembourg is the richest country in Europe and the first country to make all public transport free. The free public transport will be available on trams, trains and buses and open to tourists, as well as residents.
Luxembourg’s economy will benefit from free public transport. This is due to increased geographical mobility of Luxembourg’s workforce.
Why has Luxembourg introduced free public transport?
The introduction of free public transport is an important social measure in Luxembourg.
One reason is because it will hit higher tax payers more than others and this is also Luxembourg attempting to tackle income inequality in their country. It will help to reduce poverty and decrease the inequality gap in Luxembourg.
Another reason is to encourage the use of public transport as Luxembourg is known to have frequent traffic jams and 47% of business trips in Luxembourg are made by car. More than 60% of commuters drive to work in Luxembourg compared to 19% who use public transport.
How will this impact businesses?
Businesses should also benefit from free public transport as skills shortages will be filled due to the increased mobility. Therefore businesses will fill job vacancies at a quicker rate meaning they operate more efficiently and increase their output. Without transport being an obstacle to employment people can work wherever they want leading to a more efficient allocation of labour.
At what cost is this achieved?
The total cost for Luxembourg providing this service is more than 500 million euros.
Should the UK make public transport free?
Public transport in the UK is reasonably affordable on trams and buses. However, having recently travelled by train in the UK I think it is quite expensive. But there are ways to help reduce the cost of train travel such as a railcard making it more affordable. However, for the UK to introduce public transport tax would need to be increased to fund it.
How successful has free public transport been in Luxembourg?
In Luxembourg more people are now using public transport as its free of charge. Passenger numbers have increased as much as 85% on some routes.
This will benefit Luxembourg as it will reduce their carbon emissions due to less people using cars and is a step in the right direction to becoming more environmentally friendly.
More countries should have a free public transport system, this is the future!
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JeffreysJourneyEIBM 