
On Thursday, the TICE operator in the Minette region suspended services across 10 bus routes, while Luxembourg City's buses and tram network also struggled to cope with the heavy snowfall.
Private bus operators supplying the network on behalf of the RGTR - Luxembourg's general road transport regime, overseen by the Ministry of Mobility - experienced a slightly different situation. Hendrik Kühne, general secretary of FLEEA, the Luxembourg federation of bus operators, told RTL: "Two days ago, the situation was less serious despite the ice, but Thursday was worse because there was heavy snowfall on a layer of ice."
A number of accidents took place due to the wintry conditions, but bus companies are yet to report on the situation.
The authorities came under fire in the media, notably in the Tageblatt newspaper, where the TICE staff delegation president wrote that the transport ministry had failed to issue clear instructions regarding the weather situation, and criticised the fact that a number of private bus operators continued to circulate despite worsening road conditions.
Kühne explained:
"In our sector, we received no such order from the ATP (Public Transport Administration), which manages the RGTR network. So in our case, companies had to request an authorisation from the ATP in order to cancel services. The ATP did issue these authorisations if requested. But we are locked into a contract with the government, so our operators cannot independently decide not to run services."
The question of winter tyres for buses came up again, as these are mandatory for the steering axle on articulated buses. However, most bus companies fit winter tyres on all their vehicles, and moreover, this week's issues were not necessarily related to tyre types, according to Kühne. "The problem was the maintenance of the road," he told RTL. "The surfaces weren't clear, so it was snow on top of ice."