Luxembourg is set to become the first country in the world to make all its public transport free.

Fares on trains, trams and buses will be lifted next summer under the plans of the re-elected coalition government led by Xavier Bettel, who was sworn in for a second term as prime minister Wednesday.

Bettel, whose Democratic party will form a government with the leftwing Socialist Workers’ party and the Greens, had vowed to prioritize the environment during the recent election campaign.

On top of the transport pledge, the new government is also considering legalizing cannabis, and introducing two new public holidays.

Luxembourg City, the capital of the small Grand Duchy, suffers from some of the worst traffic congestion in the world.

It is home to about 110,000 people, but a further 400,000 commute into the city to work. A study suggested that drivers in the capital spent an average of 33 hours in traffic jams in 2016.

While the country as a whole has 600,000 inhabitants, nearly 200,000 people living in France, Belgium and Germany cross the border every day to work in Luxembourg.

Luxembourg has increasingly shown a progressive attitude to transport.

This summer, the government brought in free transport for every child and young person under the age of 20. Secondary school students can use free shuttles between their institution and their home. Commuters need only pay US$2.27 for up to two hours of travel, which in a country of just 2,586 sq km covers almost all journeys.

Now, from the start of 2020 all tickets will be abolished, saving on the collection of fares and the policing of ticket purchases.

The policy is yet to be fully thought through, however. A decision has yet to be taken on what to do about first- and second-class compartments on trains.

The policy of the new government that has caused the most debate, however, has been that of legalizing the purchase, possession and consumption of cannabis for recreational use.

Words to Learn 相关词汇

【大麻】dàmá cannabis marijuana

【拥堵】yōngdǔ congestion overcrowding

卢森堡将成为世界首个公共交通全免费的国家。

再度当选的格扎维埃·贝泰尔领导下的联合政府推出计划，从明年夏天起，火车、电车和巴士的车费全免。贝泰尔上周三刚宣誓就职首相，开始他的第二任期。

贝泰尔在竞选活动中曾经承诺，将把环境保护放在优先地位。贝泰尔所属的民主党将和左翼社会主义工人党、绿党一起组建联合政府。

除了交通免费的承诺外，新政府还考虑将大麻合法化，并增加两个公共节假日。

卢森堡大公国的首都卢森堡市是全世界交通最拥堵的国家之一。

卢森堡市的人口约11万，但还有40万人每日通勤进城上班。研究显示，2016年卢森堡的司机浪费在交通堵塞上的时间平均为33个小时。

尽管这个国家的居民总数为60万，但是每天有近20万居住在法国、比利时和德国的人跨境到卢森堡来上班。

卢森堡对交通问题的态度与时俱进。今年夏天，政府出台政策，免除儿童和20岁以下青少年的公交费。中学生每天往返学校和家可以乘坐免费班车。通勤族乘坐公交两个小时只需支付2.27美元，而对于一个领土面积只有2586平方公里的国家来说，去国内的任何地方都可以在两个小时的车程内搞定。

从2020年起，卢森堡所有的车票都将被废除，省去了因检票、售票监控产生的支出。

不过，该政策还需要经过充分的斟酌。关于火车一等座和二等座的车费问题还悬而未决。

新政府的政策中引发最多争议的是将购买、持有和消费娱乐性质的大麻合法化。

(Chinadaily.com.cn)