Luxembourg making all public transport free from 2020

PanARMENIAN.Net - With a population of 602,000, Luxembourg is one of Europe's smallest countries -- yet it suffers from major traffic jams.

But that could be about to change. Last month, it announced plans to make all public transport -- trains, trams and buses -- free from March 2020, CNN reports.

The government hopes the move will alleviate heavy congestion and bring environmental benefits, according to Dany Frank, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Mobility and Public Works.

Landlocked Luxembourg is one of the richest countries in Europe, with the highest per capita GDP in the European Union.

Taking up 2,586 square kilometers, Luxembourg is roughly the size of Rhode Island. From the capital of Luxembourg City, Belgium, France and Germany can all be reached by car in half an hour.

High housing costs, especially in Luxembourg City, mean more than 180,000 of its workforce commute from those neighboring countries every day.

That year, drivers in Luxembourg City spent an average of 33 hours in traffic jams. It fared worse than European cities Copenhagen and Helsinki, which have comparable population sizes to all of Luxembourg -- yet drivers in both only spent an average of 24 hours in traffic.