I live in the only country where public transport is free for everyone - AMA

[expatinspace]

I've been wanting to do a thread like this for a while. I live in Luxembourg which is the only country in the world to offer free public transport to anyone, regardless of whether you are a resident or not.

Happy to answer any questions!

Where in Spain is public transport free for residents?

Off topic, can I ask how you did this because I'm interested in this. How long ago was it?

@expatinspace I've wanted to visit for a while, definitely on my list.

I live in Australia and in our state, PT is 50c. It's only this token amount because they wanted to track the numbers. Usage has definitely increased with fewer cars on the road.

Luxembourg is amazing for that!

We have had free trains in my region of Spain for the last 4 years. They have just brought in a fee of 20€ for unlimited travel for a month. It got people off the roads and massively improved air quality

Luxembourg is paradise on Earth. I love it so much. It's also the place with the cheapest petrol in Europe

Free public transport is great for those people living in Luxembourg Ville but for people living in villages a mere 15 minutes drive from the city the public transport is useless. If I want to go anywhere other than Lux Ville the only sensible option is the car. For example, the airport is 20 minutes drive way, by bus this journey would take 1 hour and 40 minutes. Also, most frontaliers ie cross border workers drive in as public transport from France and Belgium is pretty pants and the motorways are regularly gridlocked.

It’s $0.50 per trip where I live, travel as far as you want.

Probably already been mentioned but I believe it's free in many French towns. Great for congestion and the environment

How safe does it feel? Are there problems with anti social behaviour? Or investment in reducing it?

Not having to ride a public bus is one of the great joys of car ownership imo. I hated it, particularly as an older teen/young adult dealing with harassment.

I was in Luxembourg last year. It’s a fabulous place. I was very flummoxed when I couldn’t find a ticket office at the main station. And it all worked beautifully and punctually too. I think Luxembourg would be a great place to live.

Sorry that wasn’t a question, just an observation.

I felt 100% safe on the trains and the Buses. They were clean and punctual. But I think Luxembourg is a pretty civilised place in general.

Agree, this isn’t true — heavily discounted at times, yes. Free nationally, no.

Most areas feel pretty safe but there are huge problems around the Gare area in Lux Ville and also in the area of the main park. In fact there was a shooting just off Avenue Monterey a few days ago - very scary.

The current and previous governments are getting/got a lot of flak about the deterioration around the Gare. I’m not sure they are doing much about it. Someone attempted to mug my son for his phone on the rue du Strasbourg but as he’s studied martial arts they didn’t succeed.

I’ve not run across much anti social behaviour on the buses or the tram but have seen many homeless people taking shelter on them.

All trains free? Not heavily discounted? Not with a card you buy?

And presumably not that handy outside of cities? Which region of Spain is this that heavily reduced car usage?

Worlds shitest AMA where the OP disappears and the posters lying about Spain bugger off too.

Maybe they are waiting for a bus

Who pissed in your cornflakes @CountryQueen 😂

So happy to wear the crown of 'worlds shittest AMA'. I'll be sure to wear it whilst riding the free buses.

Apologies for going MIA @Thisiswhathings.

The national language of Luxembourg is Luxembourgish, and there are 3 administrative languages used; Luxembourgish, French and German. I find the vast majority of people here will either speak French or English to me. My French is mediocre, I can understand and read a lot more than I can speak.

I would definitely give yourself 3 full days here. Hotels are expensive but on the plus side, you don't have to pay for transport 😉

I'll get together some ideas for you and write another reply.

How accessible is Luxembourg for disabled people eg parking, good quality pavements, dropped kerbs, kneeling buses, low level trams/trains.

Does reality match any legislation and/or hype?

So research has shown that car usage has dropped in the City, but it's still not ideal for cross border workers and those who live out in the towns and villages. 58€ a month is a fair price. My daughter picked up a Summer job back in the UK and she spent £6 a day to get to and from work. Some weeks she was working everyday so it soon added up to around £150 a month. That's a lot for someone on minimum wage.

I wonder if it's financially sustainable for the government here to continue though as the costs to operate have increased so much since it was first introduced. In all honesty, we would buy a car if it wasn't free.

The government is continually investing in public transport. The tram system has grown significantly. I have also noticed some buses which serve the towns and villages have increased in frequency. The buses are always busy, even on a Sunday.

No idea about fitness, sorry. I don't see an issue with obesity for example, here though.

I don't think they have an issue with people doing 1 stop journeys, other people who have been on the bus longer are usually getting off at the same stop. The buses we use are always very busy.

I often feel a little sorry for the drivers though. Their interaction with people will have reduced significantly so I always try and say good morning and thank you.

I'm going to suggest a few places to visit as another poster has asked. I'll put together something soon so check back for updates 😊

I don't have a comment on the transport but I do want to say we drove through Luxembourg in our motorhome a few years ago.
We stopped at a huge supermarket...Cactus I want to say. OMG it was without doubt the most fabulous supermarket we've ever been too. We could have spent hours there.

Very smart, are other states following suit?

Fantastic price, I don't think all countries need to offer free transport but certainly subsidising it makes a huge difference in car usage it seems.