卢森堡有60.2万人口，是欧洲最小的国家之一，但也面临严重的交通堵塞。从2020年3月1日起，卢森堡所有公共交通——火车、电车和公共汽车——免费运营。

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. As of March 1, 2020 all public transport -- trains, trams and buses -- in the country is now free.

 

The government hopes the move will alleviate¹ heavy congestion² and bring environmental benefits, according to Dany Frank, a spokesperson for the Ministry³ of Mobility⁴ and Public Works.

 

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 workforce⁵ commute⁶ from those neighboring countries every day.

 

"Luxembourg is a very attractive place for jobs," explains Geoffrey Caruso, a professor at the University of Luxembourg and the Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research specializing in land use and transportation.

 

But its "booming economy" and high concentration of jobs have led to congestion issues, he says.

 

In 2016, Luxembourg had 662 cars per 1,000 people, and driving is a "primary means of transportation" for commuters, according to a 2017 report by the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Infrastructure⁷.

 

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.

 

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