Eurostat ranks the Grand Duchy at the bottom in Europe when it comes to daily public transport use. Barely 3.3% of residents use public transport every day, far below the European average of 10.7%.
The finding is striking given that Luxembourg is often praised for its free public transport policy. Despite a dense and constantly modernising network, the country also has the lowest proportion of regular users in the EU. Even on a weekly basis, usage remains well below that of neighbouring countries.
In much of the EU, daily use is significantly higher, particularly in countries where most journeys are concentrated in large cities. In Luxembourg, by contrast, the car remains the preferred transport option for most commuters. Short distances, high living standards, entrenched car culture, and the scale of cross-border commuting all contribute to this persistent dependence.
Yet the picture is not entirely straightforward. While Luxembourg has the lowest rate of daily public transport use, it also has the smallest share of people who never use it at all. Only 15.7% of residents say they never take a bus, tram or train – far below the levels recorded in countries such as Cyprus, Italy, and Portugal.
In other words, Luxembourgers do use public transport, but only occasionally.
This unusual combination – very few daily users but also relatively few non-users – suggests that public transport is often seen as a backup option rather than a daily habit. It also highlights a key challenge for a country that has invested heavily in free public transport in an effort to reduce congestion on its roads.
