Bus, train or car - which is best?

Luxembourg's efforts to promote public transport appear to be paying off, particularly among cross-border workers from France.

This group is the most likely of all neighbouring nations to hop on the train when travelling to work, a study has revealed.

Vivre au Luxembourg, a report published by public polling firm CEPS/INSTEAD, showed that in 2010 11.5% of all French cross-border workers took the train to the Grand Duchy, up from 9.5% in 2007. At same time, bus use grew up to four times, from 1.5% of trips to 5.5%.

This shift is thought to be largely down to the creation of new cross-border bus lines from the Lorraine region to Luxembourg.

Public transport use has also seen a boon on Luxembourg's border with Germany where use of the bus to travel to Luxembourg for work nearly doubled during the last three years.

Taking the bus accounted for 7.5% of all transport methods, up from 4% in 2007, making German commuters the most likely of all three bordering countries to bus it to Luxembourg.

Car use by commuters was found to be highest in Germany, accounting for 90% of all trips. German cross-border workers were the least likely to take the train to work (2.5% of trips in 2010).

For Belgian residents travelling to Luxembourg to work, train use grew slightly, from 8% to 9%, but car use remains the dominant form of transport.

Interestingly car-sharing, in which commuters will travel together in a car, accounts for 15% of all commuter transport methods.

The number of residents from neighbouring countries working in Luxembourg has grown during the last seven years, according to the report. In the areas covered by the study, commuter numbers rose from 112,800 to 130,300. The actual number of cross-border workers was reported at 147,416 in 2009, according to a Statec study.

The report was published by CEPS/INSTEAD in partnership with the University of Strasbourg by monitoring commuter movements from November 2010 to January 2011.