Now if Ireland could only follow suit…
At the start of this month, a number of Ireland’s public transport fares changed, with a few of them doing so for the worse.
A number of fares were made more expensive, with many people claiming that they should be doing the exact opposite.
One country that is doing the opposite is Luxembourg, and they are doing it to the extreme.
They have become the first country to make public transport entirely free throughout the country.
According to The Independent, Luxembourg’s transport system costs close to €1bn per year to operate, but as a result of the concessionary offers, fares amount to only €30m annually.
The decision intends to save on the collection and processing of fares, while also encouraging a shift away from private cars. Traffic congestion in the country is a serious issue.
Some places around the world offer free transport in a bid to reduce traffic congestion, and in some US counties the bus system is free, but no other nation has eliminated fares from its entire transport network.
Here’s hoping Ireland follows suit and we can bin our leap cards for good.
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