Who will pay for Luxembourg's public transport

The most obvious answer is that the state pays for public transport in Luxembourg. And indeed it does. Next year, the budget for the maintenance, repairs and development of the public transportation network will amount to 800 million euros. This sum also will cover the travel costs for the entire country.

From an economic point of view, this is quite a profitable scheme despite the high costs. For example, Belgium has calculated that traffic jams cost more than 4 billion euros per year. This is just over 1% of the country's GDP. And about the same amount that the economy loses due to supply delays and other such obstacles.

No study of this sort has been done in Luxembourg, but Mobility Minister François Bausch is confident that this is the right direction for the country.

The Minister also noted the the experience of France, which introduced a transport tax for companies. Luxembourg can do something similar by adapting the idea to local laws. In particular, benefits can be introduced for small organizations with up to 50 employees.

It is not yet entirely clear whether such a tax will be introduced at all and how companies will react to it. Such a decision will require more than one round of debates and assessment of its economic prospects.