In an effort to boost cycling in Luxembourg, the government introduced subsidies for bicycles and e-bikes a few years ago. People who purchase a bicycle are thus eligible to have up to €600 reimbursed.
However, while this initiative has been met with great enthusiasm, the amount of time it takes for the money to actually be transferred to the account of an applicant has increased to more than a year.
Our colleagues from RTL spoke to Serge Hoffmann, who was lucky enough to be among the first wave of applicants and received the subsidy for his e-bike within three months. Less than a year later, Hoffmann filed another application for his partner, who is currently still waiting for the money to be transferred.
The Nature Administration acknowledges that there are many people still waiting for confirmation. According to deputy director David Glod, the initiative has become a victim of its own success, with a spike of demands made in spring 2021 slowing the entire process down.
Glod noted: “Our office initially received a few hundred or maybe even a thousand demands per month. However, peak times saw 5,000 to 6,000 applications per month, which is reason for the current delay.”
Since the Nature Administration has also been dissatisfied with the slow progress, additional employees have been hired since.
When it comes to the reimbursement of electric cars, however, the situation looks very different. Glod explained that the internal deadline is one month and that it is actually more difficult for people to get their hands on an actual vehicle.
