With a population of nearly 602，000， Luxembourg is one of Europes smallest countries—yet it suffers from major traffic jams.

盧森堡的人口大約有60.2萬，是歐洲最小的國家之一，但也面臨嚴(yán)重的交通堵塞。

But that could be about to change. Since March 1， 2020 all public transport—trains， trams and buses—in the country has operated free of charge.

但這種情況將改變。自2020年3月1日起，盧森堡所有公共交通——火車、電車和公共汽車——都是免費運營的。

The government hopes the move will alleviate heavy congestion and bring environmental benefits， according to Dany Frank， a spokesperson for the Ministry of Mobility and Public Works.

交通與公共工程部發(fā)言人丹尼·弗蘭克表示，政府希望此舉能緩解嚴(yán)重的交通擁堵，并有益于環(huán)保。

Landlocked Luxembourg is one of the richest countries in Europe， with the highest per capita GDP in the European Union.

地處內(nèi)陸的盧森堡是歐洲最富裕的國家之一，人均GDP居歐盟之首。

Taking up 2，586 square kilometers， Luxembourg is roughly the size of Rhode Island. From the capital of Luxembourg City， Belgium， France and Germany can all be reached by car in half an hour.

盧森堡占地2586平方公里，面積和美國的羅德島差不多大。盧森堡的首都盧森堡市距離比利時、法國和德國車程都在半小時內(nèi)。

High housing costs， especially in Luxembourg City， mean more than 180，000 of its workforce commute from those neighboring countries every day.

該國，尤其是盧森堡市，高昂的住房成本意味著每天有超過18萬員工從這些鄰國通勤上班。

“Luxembourg is a very attractive place for jobs，” explains Geoffrey Caruso， a professor at the University of Luxembourg and the Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research specializing in land use and transportation.

盧森堡大學(xué)和盧森堡社會經(jīng)濟(jì)研究所專門從事土地利用和交通研究的教授杰弗里·卡魯索解釋說：“盧森堡是一個非常有吸引力的就業(yè)目的地?！?/p>

But its “booming economy” and high concentration of jobs have led to congestion issues， he says.

但他表示，盧森堡“蓬勃發(fā)展的經(jīng)濟(jì)”和就業(yè)的高度集中導(dǎo)致了交通擁堵問題。

In 2016， Luxembourg had 662 cars per 1，000 people， and driving is a “primary means of transportation” for commuters， according to a report in 2017.

根據(jù)2017年的一份報告，2016年，盧森堡每1000人擁有662輛汽車，駕車是通勤者出行的“主要交通方式”。

Drivers in Luxembourg City spent an average of 33 hours in traffic jams in 2016. It fared worse than European cities Copenhagen and Helsinki， which have comparable population sizes to all of Luxembourg—yet drivers in both only spent an average of 24 hours in traffic.

2016年，盧森堡市的司機(jī)平均在交通堵塞中花費33個小時。盧森堡市的擁堵情況比哥本哈根和赫爾辛基等歐洲城市更糟，這兩個城市的人口規(guī)模相當(dāng)于整個盧森堡，但司機(jī)堵在路上的時間平均僅為24小時。

Luxembourgs public transport system covers the whole country and costs $562 million per year to run. Each year， it generates around $46 million in ticket sales， according to the ministry.

盧森堡的公共交通系統(tǒng)覆蓋全國，每年的運營費用為5.62億美元。據(jù)交通與公共工程部統(tǒng)計，每年的公共交通售票收入約為4600萬美元。

The government is putting up the cost of making it free， Frank says. “The country at this very moment is in really good shape. We， the government， want the people to benefit from the good economy.”

弗蘭克說，政府會承擔(dān)公共交通免費的成本?！氨R森堡目前經(jīng)濟(jì)運行良好。政府希望人民從中受益?！?/p>

Caruso is concerned that making transport free may unintentionally deter people who would normally walk or cycle in urban areas. “Rather than walking 500 meters， you see a bus coming and you say， ‘I （can） get on and travel 500 meters because its free，” he says.

卡魯索擔(dān)心，免費的公共交通可能會無意中讓那些通常在城區(qū)步行或騎車的人放棄之前的習(xí)慣。他說：“平時走500米的路，現(xiàn)在看到一輛公交車開過來，你會說：‘這段路我可以搭公交，因為公交免費?！?/p>

He adds， however， that the new scheme can signal important changes ahead when it comes to Luxembourgs reliance on driving.

但他補充說，就盧森堡市民對駕駛的依賴而言，新計劃可能預(yù)示著將來會出現(xiàn)重大變化。

“（The government） might say， ‘Its important that you ditch your car， and look， we made public transport free—and maybe this is helpful given the immense cultural shift we need.”

“（政府）可能會說，‘棄車出行很重要，看，我們讓公共交通免費了?？紤]到我們需要的巨大文化轉(zhuǎn)變，這或許是有幫助的?！?/p>

Word Study

alleviate /?'li?vie?t/ v. 減輕;緩和;緩解

A number of measures were taken to alleviate the problem.

commute /k?'mju?t/ v. 上下班往返

reliance /r?'la??ns/ n. 依賴;依靠;信任

ditch /d?t?/ v. 擺脫;拋棄;丟棄

The new road building programme has been ditched.