LNW-GW Joint
Veteran Member
But presumably these are available to everyone.
Many of the foreign schemes are based around the local social security/education system, and some are limited to residents or (sometimes) to EU citizens.
If, unlike here, they are subsidised by the state, they do all they can to restrict usage to locals who pay taxes.
Also many of them have (by our standards) expensive annual/quarterly/monthly cards but give good discounts.
Some countries have on-demand discounted fares for seniors (eg Norway 50%, Finland 50%, Belgium flat fare of €6), or are completely free (Hungary, Slovakia).
You just have to prove your age (passport etc).
In Spain the cards are numbered and you have to quote/key in the number to get the discount.
They can therefore track usage down to the individual, something I'm surprised we don't do here.
German cards are on subscription (you have to sign a direct debit).