Free minibuses for French commuters to the border

The Communauté de communes de Cattenom et environs announced that free minibuses will be deployed in six French municipalities from September. These will travel to the Luxembourg border to give commuters a better connection to their workplace.

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Two lines are set up. The first line serves Contz-les-Bains, Haute-Kontz and Beyren-lès-Sierck. The second line serves Berg-sur-Moselle as well as Gavisse, Fixem and Beyren. The shuttle buses go to Mondorf. There the passengers can then change to the buses of the Luxembourg transport company RGTR. If the campaign proves successful, the shuttle bus routes could be changed in the future.

Six-month test phase

This is a pilot project that was launched by the municipality. “We want to see whether the offer is accepted, because every attempt has its price and you cannot ignore the budget,” explains Roland Balcerzak, CCCE vice president responsible for mobility policy. The costs for the six-month trial amount to 730,000 euros.

As the project is still in the consultation phase, the practical details are not yet known. However, the vice president of the CCCE explained that the shuttle buses will be available free of charge from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and then from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. They want to ensure a “regular, safe, punctual and high-quality” service. The project will officially start on September 2nd, the day school starts. “A not unimportant decision that makes it possible to limit the wear and tear on cars, the CO₂ footprint and the fuel consumption of commuters.”

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Good news for cross-border commuters who regularly have to struggle with mobility problems in the region. “Road traffic has increased tenfold while the road network has not been modernized,” said Roland Balcerzak at the meeting of the municipal syndicate. He recalled that tens of thousands of cross-border commuters use the region’s roads every day, causing enormous mobility problems.

This article first appeared on Comma. Translation and revision: Marvin Schieben.