What would it take to reduce traffic congestion in the Grand Duchy? Just a global pandemic, it would seem.
Residents and cross-border workers alike were accustomed to losing precious amounts of time to their commute to the numerous traffic jams around the capital. Thanks to lockdown, these traffic jams virtually disappeared.
The Fondation Idea analysed data compiled by TomTom and concluded the rate of congestion fell by 63% during lockdown.
Congestion built up slowly until 2 July, before falling again until 20 August, suggesting that many employees took annual leave or continued to work from home.
The drop in traffic could also be explained by the reduced number of holidaymakers, as Luxembourg is usually a point of passage for tourists from northern Europe.
In the week of 31 August to 4 September, four months after lockdown ended, the traffic jams in and around the capital were significantly smaller than their 2019 counterparts.
Could this be a sign of things to come? The government advice to continue working from home, as well as the agreements with neighbouring countries allowing cross-border workers to stay at home until the end of the year, could see the drop in circulation continue.
During the week of August 31 to September 4, two weeks before the start of the school year and four months after the end of confinement, the traffic jams in and around the capital were systematically below their level of 2019. The sign of a lasting drop in the circulation?
Recommendations for teleworking from the government, and agreements with neighboring countries for border workers, could allow this trend to continue.
