The initiative kicks off on Saturday 29 February, as announced by Minister for Mobility François Bausch at a press conference on Thursday. Luxembourg will become the first country in the world to provide bus, train and tram services for free, attracting attention from beyond its borders.
The Luxembourgish and international press was well represented at the conference, with 60 reporters from 40 different media companies - including 30 journalists from foreign countries.
ARD correspondent Gudrun Engel said it was an exciting prospect, with many Germans also clamouring for free public transport. Luxembourg could lead the way in that sense.
Of course, not just Luxembourgers will benefit from the free transport, with Bausch hoping that the 214,000 cross-border workers who commute to the Grand Duchy each day would also be able to make use of it. Luxembourg authorities have collaborated with the French, Belgian and German train companies to ensure any tickets sold would deduct the cost of the Luxembourg portion of any journey, thus offering reduced ticket prices to commuters travelling by train.
Engel said this was an attractive offer, provided there were sufficient trains with sufficient space to encourage commuters to take to the rails instead of the roads.
However, Belgian journalists such as TVLux's Olivier Oranne expressed concerns that cross-border commuters might stop taking the train from Libramont or Arlon, and instead drive to the border before getting on a train, which would risk clogging up car parks.
Alongside journalists, Thursday's press conference also welcomed representatives from foreign municipalities. A number of European cities have experimented with free public transport to date. Estonia's capital, Tallinn, was the first city in Europe to introduce free transport in 2013, which has led to a 10% increase in the number of passengers using public transport. However, Luxembourg is the first to introduce free transport across the nation, which explains the media interest from abroad.
Report in Luxembourgish.
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