The connection of the Place de l'Etoile and Gare by tram does not mean that the buses are dead, quite the opposite will be the case. Luxembourg City intends to take advantage of this novelty to redesign its municipal bus network, which carried some 40 million passengers in 2019.

"The change concerns not only the routes but also the line numbers," said Patrick Goldschmidt (DP), alderman in charge of mobility.

One of the biggest changes is the disappearance of the bus station in front of the railway station. Only one stop will remain, divided into two platforms: one dedicated to the service of the city centre and the other to the Southern districts. The other bus lines will stop at Rocade Station, to connect with the Cloche d’Or, for example, via routes 20 and 22.

As the tram becomes the backbone of the urban public transport network, the focus will be on multimodality and connectivity between all bus routes and the tram.

Between the neighborhoods, without passing the train station

The former network where the station was the hub of most of the city’s bus lines will disappear: some of the routes have been redesigned to connect districts without passing through the station.

This is the case for example for the number 16 bus to the airport. From 13 December, the route will link the European School in Mamer with the airport via Hamilius.

Another example of this junction between the west and the east of the city: route no. 6 will run between the municipality of Bertrange and the airport, via the City Concorde shopping centre and Merl.

"The idea is to be able to travel from one area to another with maximum connection," says Lex Bentner, head of the Luxembourg City bus service. 

The names of certain bus stops will also change, warns the city. That is why it has just summarized all of this in a video as well as in a flyer distributed to all the mailboxes in the city territory. Watch the video (in Luxembourgish) here.

The changes are in line with modifications to the RGTR regional bus network, which will also come into effect on 13 December. That is also the date that the tram will finally connect Luxexpo with the train station in just 24 minutes.

Until then, tram tests will continue for the next two weeks to ensure not only the right frequency, with a tram every 5 minutes, but also future connections with the bus lines.

"The city’s bus network costs almost €100 million a year," stressed Goldschmidt, who aims to install a 100% electric fleet within the next ten years.

Another project in preparation is the design of a city map highlighting points of interest such as monuments, sports and shopping centres.

This article was originally published in French on Paperjam.lu and translated and edited for Delano.