Switzerland has one of the best train systems in the world: It may not be the fastest, but it is one of the most comprehensive and reliable. You can get from anywhere to anywhere else in the country, trains almost always run at least hourly, and generally scheduled for easy connections. And while it's not cheap, if you live there, you can get all sorts of discounts, and they even have a yearly unlimited pass. That's right, if you pay 3100 Francs (worth about $2500 before the dollar became worthless), you can ride on any train, bus, tram, etc. anywhere in the country as much as you like.
Imagine if such a thing existed in Northern California: you would be able to go from Salinas to Reno, from Yosemite to San Francisco, all for just one easy payment of, say, $3000. That's hardly more than a year's worth of Caltrain and Muni passes, yet it offers one the freedom to go anywhere at all, without having to bother with tickets, or even think about how much it costs. You just hop on the train and go.
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The Dutch government used to give general, national public transit passes to students, valid on both national rail and the various regional/municipal systems. At some point there was a cutback and now you have to chose between either free transit on weekends and a discount on weekdays, or the other way around. Also, if you don't graduate, you have to pay it back. But it's still for all transit in the country.
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