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The ultimate app to navigate through public transports in Luxembourg

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The ultimate app to navigate through public transports in Luxembourg

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Mobilitéitszentral - a service by the Ministry of Mobility and Public Works, Public Transport Administration

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School transport information

How to display school lines when searching on our mobile application? Check this link to find out.

Reminder: New RGTR line numbering in general since the 17 July 2022. Please consult this link for more information.

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Homepage - Mobilitéitszentral - a service by the Ministry of Mobility and Public Works, Public Transport Administration : route calculation in Luxembourg, public transport schedules and lines, buses, trains, trams

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School transport information How to display school lines when searching on our mobile application? Check this link to find out. Reminder: New RGTR line numbering in general since the 17 July 2022. Please consult this link for more information.

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In Luxembourg, public transport is free!

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In Luxembourg, public transport is free!

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t's not quite John o'Groats to Land's End, let alone Florida to Alaska, but undertaking an end-to-end expedition across Luxembourg has its advantages. The first is that you can do it in a morning: it's about three hours by public transport. The second is the journey won't cost you a cent. That's right - total cost for two buses and two trains, travelling about 60 miles: zero euros. Since March 2020, all public transport in Luxembourg has been entirely free to use. While elsewhere in Europe rural bus routes are disappearing and train travel can be more expensive than driving or even flying, Luxembourg has taken things in the opposite direction: improving its transport services and dispensing with fares altogether, with a view to easing traffic congestion, reducing inequality and meeting climate targets. As a very small and very wealthy country - the richest in the world if you look at GDP per capita - you could say Luxembourg has it easy, but could this initiative work in other parts of the world? Does it even work in Luxembourg?

I set out on my trans-Luxembourg odyssey one summer's morning, with not a euro or a care in the world. All I really need is the journey planner on the government's easy-to-use Mobilitiéits Zentral app.

Even the tram from my hotel to the central train station feels different. The line through the centre of the city, which opened in December 2020, is clean, modern and frequent. Each stop has its own little jingle when it is announced over the speaker, and, in a gesture to urban rewilding, there is grass growing between the tracks in some sections. And you can just jump on and off at any stop you like. After 24 hours in the country, in fact, the thought of paying to use public transport ever again feels like an affront. No need to book or reserve seats, no fumbling around with cards or phones or cash, no confusing ticket zones or price structures. This is just as well, as almost everything else in Luxembourg is incredibly expensive - with one key exception, as I shall discover.

Steve Rose in Luxembourg, waiting for a train. Photograph: Jean-Christophe Verhaegen/AFP/The Guardian

My journey begins in Rumelange, a small, leafy town at the southern border with France. Much of Luxembourg is leafy outside the main city, which is a mix of orderly mitteleuropean grandeur and arid corporate and institutional architecture, such as the European court of justice. From Rumelange, it's a 10-minute bus journey to the train station at Esch-sur-Alzette, where I head north via two doubledecker trains - which, like the bus, feel almost brand new and are virtually empty. It is almost gratifying to discover that not everything is running smoothly: the first train is delayed, which threatens to undermine my entire app-generated itinerary. I have to sprint to make my connection or else I'll have to wait an hour for the next one. Then it's another short bus journey from Troisvierges station to Schmëtt - at the northern border.

People I meet along the way seem generally happy and proud of their newly liberated public transport, although many point out that it was already pretty cheap before - a go-anywhere day pass for trains was just €5 - and fare-dodging was apparently rife. But, for unemployed people or low-income workers, free travel amounts to a substantial saving. It has also made a difference for young people, says Marie, a graduate in her 20s. "When we were students, a lot of people went to school by car instead of bus and train," she says. "And now it's easier for young people to hang out after school or on weekends. If you want to go to a certain village, there's always a way to get there by bus."

Parents Philip and Elspeth are returning home to south Luxembourg after a cycling holiday in Germany with their daughter - there's dedicated space for their bikes on the train. "It's very convenient and easy because we don't need to pay anything," says Philip. "Before, it was a big mess, because at small stations usually there were no ticket offices, so sometimes it was not easy to find the appropriate fare." When the trains became free three years ago, adds Elspeth, for many of her children's friends, "it was the first time in their lives they were taking a train, at 16."

Schmëtt is not billed as "Luxembourg's northernmost point" or anything like that; I just looked it up on Google maps (to be precise, the very northernmost point is the corner of the Lidl car park). With more time, I could head south-east from here to go hiking in Mullterhal, "Luxembourg's little Switzerland", or south-west to the Upper Sûre lake for a swim - all for the price of nothing. But there's nothing to detain me in Schmëtt itself, apart from the Lidl. It's not even really a town, just a strip of roadside retail. The only remarkable thing about the place is the fact that it has four petrol stations.

Steve Rose in Schmëtt at the Luxembourg-Belgium border. Photograph: Jean-Christophe Verhaegen/AFP/The Guardian

This is Luxembourg's dirty little secret: while basic amenities are prohibitively expensive (a pint of beer costs €7.50, or about £6.50), petrol prices are the lowest in western Europe. There are four petrol stations at the border because people in Belgium drive over to fill up. "This kind of behaviour is not helping for a change to a fossil-free future," says Frédéric Meys, Greenpeace's local campaign manager.

"There is inside Luxembourg a culture of the car," says Meys. "We have one of the highest levels of cars per inhabitant: it's just below 700 cars per 1,000 people. And the average age of the cars is quite low compared to other countries in Europe." Luxembourg also has the highest number of luxury cars per capita - dealerships for the likes of Ferrari, Lamborghini and Bentley appear to be everywhere. Luxembourg is a small, rich country, Meys explains. "So people are spending their money on cars."

Many Luxembourgers I spoke to admitted as much. "Most of the people I associate with, the fact of making public transport free hasn't really driven them to use it," says Damon, a young lawyer who lives about 25 minutes' drive outside the city centre. Most people still drive to work, he says, especially if they have somewhere to park at the other end. "It's just faster. And if you're leaving work at like six or seven in the evening, the frequency of the buses is reduced. So, instead of maybe every 10 or 15 minutes, it might be every 30 minutes or an hour. I can't control when I finish work, so I might have to wait an hour for the next bus."

Luxembourg's car problem was part of the motivation for the free public transport initiative in the first place, explains François Bausch, the deputy prime minister and minister for mobility and public works. "Luxembourg is a country where the population was told by political officials for decades that the best way to move around is to buy or to have a car," he says. "But, due to the development of the economy, and the specifics of Luxembourg - we have 630,000 inhabitants but also each day 230,000 commuters commuting from Belgium, France and Germany to Luxembourg to work - the congestion problems became terrible." Up until a few years ago, Luxembourg's city centre was routinely gridlocked. It's not quite so bad today, says Meys, but it is still a problem.

Prising Luxembourgers out of their cars has not been easy, says Bausch, a Green party member. When he took over as transport minister in 2013 as part of the coalition government, he set about implementing a "paradigm shift", he says. Making public transport free was a small part of that - "the cherry on the cake". The real work was improving the transport infrastructure: building new train lines, upgrading stations and rolling stock, building the new tram line, adding cycle lanes and improving connections between different modes of public transport. "Nobody believed at the beginning that it would be possible in such a car-loving country," he says.

Ahead of the launch of free public transport in 2020, there was a public campaign to change attitudes. "You must sell public transport in the same way cars have been sold in the past," he says. "The success of the car was not only to be able to go on an individual basis from A to B, but also the way of life that was being sold. We tried to do this now. In the same way." There was a jokey advertising campaign counting down to the big day - "like the first step on the moon!" - and on the day itself local bands played in railway stations and there were free public concerts.

The loss of income from abolishing fares was small, Bausch explains: about €40m a year, when the overall cost of running the system is about €800m, not including new investment. Unfortunately, the launch coincided with the arrival of the Covid pandemic (Luxembourg's first recorded case was the day before the launch), which has made the success of the scheme difficult to assess. In 2022, the number of rail passengers was actually slightly lower (22.1 million) than it was in 2019, although tram journeys increased from about 22,000 a week in 2018 to 88,000 a week in 2022.

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Two trams at the Hamilius stop on Boulevard Royal, Luxembourg. Photograph: Kerry Dunstone/Alamy

Some of the problems Luxembourg cannot fix by itself. The army of commuters from neighbouring countries, for example, who still have to pay to get to Luxembourg on their own country's rail systems. Rush-hour commuter trains to and from Luxembourg are notoriously overcrowded, so many expat commuters still find it more convenient to drive, despite the longer journey times. Combined with those Luxembourgers who enjoy driving, it means the traffic jams have not really gone away.

But the next phase of Luxembourg's transportation plan, which goes to 2035, will hopefully address these problems, says Bausch. He reels off his targets: 50% more seats on commuter services to France; trains to and from France every seven minutes by 2028 (Luxembourg is even investing €225m in modernising French rail lines to its borders). The central tram line is being extended to the airport in Findel. All buses will be electric by 2030. And a carbon tax on motor vehicles was introduced in 2020 and is increasing year by year. It is now €30 per tonne of CO2; in 2027 it will be €45 per tonne. Electric cars are now heavily subsidised. Last year they made up 20% of new vehicle sales; this year Bausch expects it to be about 38%.

"It's not that we're against cars," he says. "Cars will remain a major part of the mobility chain in the future. So maybe for your daily business, you go the first five kilometres by car, then park it and the main part of your journey to work is by train, and then maybe you ride a free bike the last mile."

Car fixation notwithstanding, Luxembourg is setting the standard. "In the past two years, I've had interview requests from everywhere in the world," says Bausch. "I've even been on South Korean television." In Greenpeace's recent survey of European public transport, based on simplicity, affordability and accessibility, Luxembourg was the only country to score a perfect 100 (next came Malta, Austria and Germany). Transport "accounts for 25% of the EU's greenhouse gas emissions and almost 70% of all oil used in the EU," says Greenpeace. "Shifting from car and air travel to public transport is a crucial strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and oil demand in Europe."

Car fixation notwithstanding, Luxembourg is setting the standard with its free public transport ... Steve Rose on his odyssey. Photograph: Jean-Christophe Verhaegen/AFP/The Guardian

Other countries and cities are waking up to this. Public transport is now free in several cities including Tallinn, Estonia (since 2013), Valletta, Malta and several French cities, including Dunkirk and Montpellier. Free transport is harder to replicate on a larger scale, but Spain, Germany and Austria have all experimented with free or reduced ticketing - to meet climate targets and ease citizens' mounting living costs. In October 2021, Austria introduced its Klimaticket - as in "climate ticket" - an annual pass offering unlimited travel on regional public transport within the country for just €3 a day. Germany introduced a similar deal last summer, for just €9 a month. It proved wildly popular - attracting 31 million passengers in June alone - and there were calls to extend it. This May, Germany introduced a permanent travel pass for €49 a month. Similarly in Spain, in 2022 the socialist-led coalition government reduced all public transport fares by 30%, and certain rail routes by 100%.

To many countries this still seems like a distant fantasy, however. In the UK, which privatised its railway system 30 years ago, train fares are expected to increase 8% this year - the largest increase in decades. Meanwhile, fuel duty for British motorists has been frozen for the past 13 years. "It's a question of priorities," says Bausch. "For me, a public transport system is really the first thing that the government of the state has to do, especially the infrastructure - the heavy investments ... The car industry is not responsible for the financing of the road system; the road system is funded by the public. It should be the same for the public transport system. The basic idea is that you must invest. You must invest in infrastructure, in a mobility system, in a public transport system that is high quality, and only the public can do this. Believing or dreaming that private investors would do this, that's ridiculous."

The costs may be daunting, says Bausch, "but I'm convinced that today, if you are an important economic hub, giving access to mobility to everybody, on an equal basis, and having an efficient public transport, that's an important factor. If we had continued like we were before, in 2013, it would have slowed down our economy."

National politics are often the stumbling block (and Luxembourg has a general election next month), but the popularity of discounted public transport schemes across Europe shows that the public is crying out for solutions such as Luxembourg's - to help with cost of living crises, traffic congestion, pollution and climate emergency targets. "This is the way we need to go," says Meys. "We don't have many other choices. Electric cars are better but they are expensive, and there are pollution issues related to their production. The solution is really a shift in mobility: to walking, cycling and public transport. If we continue what we are doing now, we are headed for a brick wall."

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All aboard! Can Luxembourg's free public transport help save the world?

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In 2020, in a bid to cut carbon emissions, Luxembourg made all its public transport free. But what is it like to use? And why are there still so many traffic jams? I took a trip to find out ...

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Hey ! Tu as entre 15 et 30 ans et tu ne sais pas encore vraiment quel sera ton parcours scolaire ou professionnel, ou tu n'es pas sûr que ta voie actuelle soit la bonne ?
Pas de panique ! Ce site et les antennes locales du Service national de la jeunesse (SNJ) t'offrent un conseil et un soutien individuels pour ton orientation. Nous t'accompagnons et nous te soutenons dans l'élaboration de tes projets professionnels, scolaires et personnels, et tu peux profiter de nos offres qui t'aideront à identifier et à faire évoluer tes points forts.

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Hey ! Tu as entre 15 et 30 ans et tu ne sais pas encore vraiment quel sera ton parcours scolaire ou professionnel, ou tu n'es pas sûr que ta voie actuelle soit la bonne ? Pas de panique !

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2500+ events in Luxembourg City. Your Events Agenda, Concerts, Entertainment, Theatre, Shows and much more → What's on luxembourg-city.com

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Looking for green spaces and a time to relax? Luxembourg City offers peaceful walking paths, parks to unwind, as well as other outdoor activities.

Green spaces

A quarter of the city of Luxembourg is made up of green spaces, perfect places to gather with family or friends. Walk in the footsteps of history, picnic in large parks and more. Find all the information on parks in Luxembourg City here:

Ideas for walks

The Wenzel Circular Walk takes you through the old quarters of the city and alongside the fortifications listed as UNESCO World Heritage since 1994.

The City Promenade allows you to discover the main sights and tourist highlights of Luxembourg City.

You also have the option to book a guided tour and be accompanied by an official guide of the Luxembourg City Tourist Office. If you would like to book a guided tour exclusively for your family and/or friends you can also request a private guide.

The Skatepark

The city of Luxembourg is equipped with an ultra modern skatepark in the heart of the Pétrusse Valley, which is an exceptional place to discover. Find more information about the skatepark here.

Explore the city by "Vel'oh" bike

The city of Luxembourg provides self-service electric bikes called "Vel'OH" available on terminals scattered throughout the city. Once you chose a subscription plan, the first 30 minutes of using the bike are always free. To find out more visit the website: myveloh.lu

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Que faire à Luxembourg-ville : Découvrez les sites touristiques & attractions à visiter et laissez-vous surprendre par cette ville aux milles facettes !

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Luxembourg offers so many different experiences. Discover our wide range of tips and offers.

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Le service de garde commence à 8h le matin et se termine à 8h le lendemain. En cas d'urgence, composez le 112.

Les taxes de dérangement

Les services de garde ont été instaurés pour assurer la délivrance de médicaments urgents 24h sur 24, 7 jours sur 7, 365 jours par année, les dimanches et jours fériés inclus. Le pharmacien est autorisé à percevoir une taxe de dérangement pendant le service de garde.

Infos tarifs

Service de nuit

19h à 22h - 6,87€
22h à 08h - 15,11€

Dimanches et jours fériés

8h à 19h - 6,87€
22h à 08h - 15,11€

Le service de garde commence à 8h le matin et se termine à 8h le lendemain. En cas d'urgence, composez le 112.

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Le service de garde commence à 8h le matin et se termine à 8h le lendemain. En cas d'urgence, composez le 112. Les taxes de dérangement Les services de garde ont été instaurés pour assurer la délivrance de médicaments urgents 24h sur 24, 7 jours sur 7, 365 jours par année, les dimanches et jours fériés inclus.

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YOUTHPASS IN MOBILITIES OF YOUTH WORKERS

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YOUTHPASS IN MOBILITIES OF YOUTH WORKERS

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Youthpass in Mobility of Youth Workers -July2020

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Valued by Others

Improving the visibility of

competences in Youthpass

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NON FORMAL EDUCATION VS FORMAL EDUCATION

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NON FORMAL EDUCATION VS FORMAL EDUCATION

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Source : Non-formal education in action: building democracy and social inclusion project by Centro per lo Sviluppo Creativo “Danilo Dolci” and partners

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“Youth participation in democratic life is about individual young

people and groups of young people having the right, the means,

the space, the opportunity and, where necessary, the support

to freely express their views, contribute to and influence societal

decision-making on matters affecting them, and be active within

the democratic and civic life of our communities.”

Definition of youth participation taken from the SALTO PI (2020) Youth Participation Strategy, Tallinn

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7 principles of NFE

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What is Non-Formal Education? 7 principles of NFE

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1 This was first published in Treseder (1997), Empowering children and young people: promoting involvement in decision-making, Save the Children, London.
The diagram shows an adapted version of the original model created by the toolkit authors specifically for the context of Erasmus +: Youth and ESC projects.

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CONTRIBUTION - HOPES/EXPECTATIONS - FEARS

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CONTRIBUTION - HOPES/EXPECTATIONS - FEARS

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Group rules

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Traditonal forms of participation VS alternative forms of participation

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Traditonal forms of participation VS alternative forms of participation

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TRADITIONAL WAYS OF PARTICIPATION VS ALTERTNATIVE WAYS

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Examples for each stage of the ladder of participation

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Examples for each stage of the ladder of participation

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Manipulation (Non-participation)

Example: A local government holds a "public forum" to discuss a new urban development plan, but in reality, the decision has already been made. The meeting is a way to make citizens feel involved, but their input is not actually considered.

2. Therapy (Non-participation)

Example: A community facing high unemployment is given a series of workshops on "self-improvement" and "mental well-being" by the local government. Instead of addressing the structural issues that caused unemployment, the focus is on changing individuals’ attitudes.

3. Informing (Tokenism)

Example: A city council informs residents about a new transportation plan by sending out flyers. Although citizens are made aware of the decisions, they have no opportunity to influence or discuss the plan.

4. Consultation (Tokenism)

Example: A municipality holds a public consultation for a new park design, gathering feedback through surveys and focus groups. While citizens are asked for their opinions, there's no guarantee that their suggestions will be incorporated into the final plan.

5. Placation (Tokenism)

Example: A neighborhood committee is formed to advise on the design of a new community center. However, the final decisions remain in the hands of city officials, and the committee's recommendations are often overruled.

6. Partnership (Citizen Power)

Example: A school district partners with parents and teachers to co-develop policies on school curriculum. Decision-making is shared between the district, parents, and teachers, with all parties having an equal say in the final outcome.

7. Delegated Power (Citizen Power)

Example: A city grants a local community group the authority to manage the budget and implementation of a neighborhood revitalization project. The community has direct control over significant decisions regarding the project.

8. Citizen Control (Citizen Power)

Example: A community cooperative takes full control over the operation of a local public housing program. The residents elect their own board and make all major decisions, from budgeting to policy-making.

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Inclusion group definition 1

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Inclusion group definition 2

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Inclusion is the best approach. It is when we adapt our activities and environment to be accessible and enriching for everyone. No one has to change to fit in; it is up to us to adapt what we do so that everyone can fully participate.

Example: For the same treasure hunt, we could use clues in Braille, sound signals, or other adaptations so that the visually impaired child can fully participate and enjoy the activity just as much as the others. Here, we change the activity to suit everyone, and each child can participate in their own way.

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Exclusion is when certain children are left out, and they do not participate in the center's activities at all. This can happen because their specific needs are not taken into account, or simply because they are different.

Example: Imagine a child who uses a wheelchair cannot access a room where an important activity is taking place. That child would be completely excluded from the activity because the space is not adapted.

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Integration is when we ensure that children with specific needs can participate in common activities, but it is often up to them to adapt to the rules and activities as they are.

Example: If a visually impaired child participates in a treasure hunt, but the activity is not modified to accommodate their visual impairment, the child is integrated into the group but must make a great effort to follow the activity. The child is present but may have difficulty truly engaging.

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As animators, our role is to create an inclusive environment. This means that we must always think about how we can adapt our activities so that every child feels welcome, respected, and able to participate fully. Inclusion is what makes everyone feel they belong to the holiday center community, regardless of their differences.

To remember: integration VS Inclusion

Integration: Starting with the person and accepting them by asking them to adapt to the environment that welcomes them, essentially asking them to ‘fit in.’

Inclusion: Allowing the person to be among others by adapting the environment to accept their differences and meet their specific needs. Inclusion means that the child belongs to the group as a whole person.”

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Luxembourguish NA (cute Nadine) presentation 

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Luxembourguish NA (cute Nadine) presentation 

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Reading in different ways!

with your hands

without light

with images

acting

with intonation

with costumes

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Log into Facebook to start sharing and connecting with your friends, family, and people you know.

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Project Proposal Template TCA CAMP KALEIDOSCOPE AOUT 24

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Please add a post here with your name/organization/country/activities/possibe collaborations

+ YOUR CONTACTS

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President of Youth Work Synergy - Housing/employability-mental well being for young people, can collaborate on all Erasmus programs

Mehdi@yws.lu

00352691597315

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Associazione Amece Baity

Activities with children, youngsters, families with immigrant background and fewer opportunities, intercultural and solidarity events, workshops, summer camps

amece.baity@gmail.com

Instagram associazione.amece

Website: www.amece.eu

Facebook: amece baity

Interested in collaborating in erasmus projects

We organized 3 youth exchanges in Turin and sent youngsters abroad in over 8 youth exchanges. Partner in a training in Latvia and in 3 ka2 projects.