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BahnCard (German ''Bahn'' – Rail) is a discount subscription programme offered by Deutsche Bahn (DB), the German national railway company. Unlike airline loyalty programs, but similarly to the UK Railcard, the BahnCard entitles the passenger to a discount price and must be purchased prior to travel. Bahncard contracts are automatically renewed each year, unless they are cancelled with sufficient notice. Three variants of Bahncard are sold by Deutsche Bahn: The BahnCard 25, the BahnCard 50, and the Mobility BahnCard 100. The first two variants allow passengers to get 25% and 50% discount respectively on standard long distance rail fares, while the Mobility BahnCard 100 is a type of annual ticket that allows free unlimited travel on most of the German railway network for a fixed price. In 2007 there were 4.01 million BahnCard holders in Germany (~5% of Germany's population).〔 〕 More than half of the passenger revenue of DB Fernverkehr (long-distance) comes from tickets sold to BahnCard holders.〔 Apart from entitling the holder to discounts, the BahnCard also functions as an ID card for the validation of online tickets, mobile phone tickets, and for purchasing tickets on vending machines. Bahncard holders can also call a discounted hotline printed on the cards, and an optional travel insurance can be included. ==Motivation== The main motivation for introducing the BahnCard was to increase competitiveness against the automobile. Prior to the BahnCard, Deutsche Bahn priced a trip between any two points in direct proportion to the distance travelled; this pricing structure proved uncompetitive with driving. 〔 〕 The card allowed a two-dimensional pricing schedule, which consists of card price (a fixed cost), and ticket price (a variable cost). Once a passenger has bought a card, its price becomes a sunk cost and this makes the train more like the automobile, which is also characterised by high fixed costs. The decision whether to take a car or train for a particular journey depends mostly on the marginal price per kilometer, not on the total cost. 〔 〕 The effect of the BahnCard was to shift the marginal cost of the train journey below that of the car journey for many customers.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「BahnCard」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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