The 3-Year Halbtax

In Switzerland, the fastest way to travel is by train. In an effort to segment customers, base fares are pretty expensive, but there is a card for heavy users which reduces ticket prices by 50%. In German, it's called "Halbtax". Typically, you get a one-year card for 150 CHF, but you can get a three-year one for 350 CHF. That's the one I bought.


Oh the audacity of selling a 3-year subscription to anything! Only in Switzerland are biographies stable enough for anyone to think about travel three years in advance. Only here can the railway company sell these without having to worry about what may happen to their cost base over such a long period.

Even more shocking: The expiration date: 2010 – drum roll – "The Future!". Only three years away. Isn't that the date by which all our problems were supposed to be solved?