End of the line for Paris’ iconic metro ticket

[ricohallo]

I'm travelling on the 13.31 Eurostar from St Pancras to Gare du Nord on Monday 18th Sept, just hoping the paper carnets are still available onboard. Do E* sell the Navigo smartcards?

The paper carnets were advertised last Monday on the 09.12 from Paris to London. Didn't ask, though.

 

[D6130]

The paper carnets were advertised last Monday on the 09.12 from Paris to London. Didn't ask, though.

Why would they be advertised on a Paris to London service? Surely they are only relevant to passengers heading towards Paris.

 

[ricohallo]

Why would they be advertised on a Paris to London service? Surely they are only relevant to passengers heading towards Paris.

Not on the PA obviously but they were on the menu screens in the cafe car.

 

[tripleseis]

Once you've bought the basic Navigo card itself, which is where the queues come in, you can top it up at the machines ( also online, I think ) for as many visits as you need up to about ten years after which the pass itself needs to be renewed.

I was able to top up the two anonymous cards we bought on our trip to Paris this spring using my smartphone and the NFC function. Pretty handy for buying passes/tickets without having to go to a ticket machine.

 

[deltic]

Paper tickets were on sale on Monday on Eurostar - I brought one and there were plenty of others buying them too. They later sold out of single tickets and were only selling carnets.

 

[ThisIsSurbiton]

The Olympic Games are in Paris next year so they need to come up with something visitor-friendly

It would be nice to think so! Contactless payments are obvious, although no word on that, strange given what a pioneer France was with chip and PIN payments

Once you've bought the basic Navigo card itself, which is where the queues come in, you can top it up at the machines

The cards are available from some ticket machines - I found one in the subway to the metro running under the original half of the station. This was an SNCF machine or at least on their territory, rather than from RATP, where I didn't see any such feature. Another similar machine along from it couldn't sell cards so shop around! The sign over the machine indicates whether it can or not

 

[Peter Mugridge]

The cards are available from some ticket machines - I found one in the subway to the metro running under the original half of the station. This was an SNCF machine or at least on their territory, rather than from RATP, where I didn't see any such feature. Another similar machine along from it couldn't sell cards so shop around! The sign over the machine indicates whether it can or not

The machines can do the initial photocard now?

That's useful to know - although now I have one it'll be ten years before I need to renew it!

 

[ThisIsSurbiton]

The machines can do the initial photocard now?

That's useful to know - although now I have one it'll be ten years before I need to renew it!

I should have been a bit clearer, they do the Navigo Easy. So you can have singles, carnets, etc., nothing exotic!

 

[Thames99]

I'm off to Paris in a few weeks time and have downloaded the Île-de-France Mobilités app to my Android phone hoping to put a Forfait Navigo Semaine (week pass) ticket on it when I go. There was a suggestion upthread (21/22 December on page 2) that a French bank card would be needed to do this. Can anyone confirm this please?

Am I right in thinking that with a Navigo card you tap in but do not need to tap out at the end - in the same way that card tickets work? If a journey involves changing from the metro, to RER or TER do you need to tap in each time when changing trains?

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Am I right in thinking that with a Navigo card you tap in but do not need to tap out at the end - in the same way that card tickets work? If a journey involves changing from the metro, to RER or TER do you need to tap in each time when changing trains?

Correct - just tap in, although there are a few gates at some stations where tapping out is required there are none of the silly journey time limits that we have in London.

You do need to tap in again when changing modes, but that's more to do with allowing them to keep an eye on usage than for charging purposes; same with the trams.

 

[TheHSRailFan]

a bit off topic but best to know since its to do with fares and this.
When I was in paris summer last year I transferred onto the RER a lot through châtelet les halles and only really got off at 2 stations (Gare Du Nord & a station along the RER D line that runs along the Gare du Nord approach lines). I noticed at CLH that there are ticket gates that separate the Metro to the RER(not like GDN where there's the non fare paying area in between), is this the same with other stations in central paris where unlike with the Tube and EL where you can transfer easily, I'm guessing the RER runs on special fares that differ from the metro?

 

[CC 72100]

a bit off topic but best to know since its to do with fares and this.
When I was in paris summer last year I transferred onto the RER a lot through châtelet les halles and only really got off at 2 stations (Gare Du Nord & a station along the RER D line that runs along the Gare du Nord approach lines). I noticed at CLH that there are ticket gates that separate the Metro to the RER(not like GDN where there's the non fare paying area in between), is this the same with other stations in central paris where unlike with the Tube and EL where you can transfer easily, I'm guessing the RER runs on special fares that differ from the metro?

Almost; with RER you always have to go through gates at entry and exit, whereas with metro it is entry only.

There is one notable case where fares differ; you can go West to La Defense on Metro Line 1 as if it was in zone 1 and thus a zone 1 ticket only required, whereas if you travel there on the RER A, you have to purchase a ticket for the 'true' zone it is in (Zone 3 I think?).

 

[TheHSRailFan]

Almost; with RER you always have to go through gates at entry and exit, whereas with metro it is entry only.

There is one notable case where fares differ; you can go West to La Defense on Metro Line 1 as if it was in zone 1 and thus a zone 1 ticket only required, whereas if you travel there on the RER A, you have to purchase a ticket for the 'true' zone it is in (Zone 3 I think?).

ahh right thanks!

 

[James H]

Bought a carnet from the Eurostar buffet today.

The very helpful steward took great pains to warn against the perils of demagnetised tickets.

 

[ainsworth74]

I was able to buy a carnet from the buffet today on Eurostar.

 

[Birkonian]

I've received a message on my IDF app stating that they have stopped selling cardboard tickets from 21st September. My daughter purchased a Navigo Easy pass for me yesterday so my worries should be over.

 

[stuu]

Bought a carnet from the Eurostar buffet today.

The very helpful steward took great pains to warn against the perils of demagnetised tickets.

Why are they so much worse than UK magstripe tickets? I managed to do it twice in one day when I was last there!

 

[AdamWW]

Why are they so much worse than UK magstripe tickets? I managed to do it twice in one day when I was last there!

In the UK if you have a ticket with a bad magnetic stripe there will be someone there to let you through the barriers.

In my experience (albeit not recent) that isn't the case on the Paris Metro. But at least you don't need a ticket to get out.

 

[Bletchleyite]

In the UK if you have a ticket with a bad magnetic stripe there will be someone there to let you through the barriers.

There is supposed to be but in my experience there sometimes isn't.

 

[Bread & cheese]

I've received a message on my IDF app stating that they have stopped selling cardboard tickets from 21st September. My daughter purchased a Navigo Easy pass for me yesterday so my worries should be over.

Ouest-France reported this as follows (automatic translation):

From today, it is no longer possible to buy a booklet of ten cardboard tickets for the Paris metro. "The single ticket will remain at least until the Olympic Games, because we will welcome millions of people. But at the end of 2024, it will take its final bow", said the president of the Île-de-France Region, Valérie Pécresse, at the beginning of September.

Until then, for all regular RATP users who wish to keep a certain freedom, the Navigo Liberté + pass is the best solution: simply validate your pass at each trip, these are counted at the end of the month and the bank account is debited the following month. For occasional metro users, it is better to opt for the Navigo Easy pass, sold for €2.10 and rechargeable at will. Last possibility, finally: validate your ticket with your phone via the Île-de-France Mobilités, Assistant SNCF and Bonjour RATP applications.

 

[stuu]

In the UK if you have a ticket with a bad magnetic stripe there will be someone there to let you through the barriers.

In my experience (albeit not recent) that isn't the case on the Paris Metro. But at least you don't need a ticket to get out.

Yes but that's not the point... I have had annual tickets on magstripe which have managed to function for months and months. When mine stopped working, the woman at the desk at Etoile already had her replacement tickets folder open, with a long list of entries for that day, before I even opened my mouth.

It's not surprising they are getting rid of them if they are so bad. The odd thing is I spend several months working in Paris in 2006, using the metro with weekly cardboard tickets. Never had a problem then

 

[U-Bahnfreund]

Last possibility, finally: validate your ticket with your phone via the Île-de-France Mobilités, Assistant SNCF and Bonjour RATP applications.

Funny, because the Assistant SNCF app was discontinued on 29 August

 

[ainsworth74]

Yes another one here who has had rotten luck with the tickets de-magnitising. Bought a carnet from Eurostar and I'd say at least five have just given up the ghost. All they've done is sit in my wallet away from my phone! At the Metro station where it happened we wre right infront of a service counter but she was not doing anything with tickets, not a clue what the point of her was! I've since managed to snaffle a Navigo Easy and will be making first use of it in an hour or so. Hopefully it will be much more reliable and hassle free. At least my phone appears able to read it's contents and I can see the t+ tickets that I bought it with.

Have to say I hope Eurostar start retailing Navigo Easy, it surely shouldn't be too tricky for them. Just sell them with one t+ ticket preloaded (so enough to get you from Nord to your hotel) or with 10 t+ tickets. I also feel like RATP, SNCF and others need far more machines capable of retailing th Navigo Easy as well.

 

[ainsworth74]

Navigo Easy worked flawlessly, I highly recommend spending the time acquiring one ASAP and using it instead of the ruddy cardboard rubbish. I've not tried buying any more tickets for it using my phone but the RATP was happily reading the contents of the passes so hopefully will be able to write new tickets to it.

 

[island]

Paper carnet t+ tickets have, as others mentioned, finally given up the ghost.

They’re still available for RER journeys that leave zone 1.

 

[gc4946]

A week ago a friend and I stayed in Paris.
We each bought a 3 day, 3 zone Paris Visite pass for the first three days of our stay and a 2.50 euro single journey only ticket bought on the bus for our last day.
They were both paper tickets.
I wonder if they're being phased out at the same time as the single t+ tickets.

 

[island]

A week ago a friend and I stayed in Paris.
We each bought a 3 day, 3 zone Paris Visite pass for the first three days of our stay and a 2.50 euro single journey only ticket bought on the bus for our last day.
They were both paper tickets.
I wonder if they're being phased out at the same time as the single t+ tickets.

Unlikely, they make RATP lots of money from tourists who get conned by these terrible value tickets. Unless you were going to zone 3 every day, you'd have been better off getting Mobilis tickets daily, which have a zone 1-2 option, or 10-journey t+ tickets on a Navigo Easy for €18.90.

 

[CC 72100]

Unlikely, they make RATP lots of money from tourists who get conned by these terrible value tickets. Unless you were going to zone 3 every day, you'd have been better off getting Mobilis tickets daily, which have a zone 1-2 option, or 10-journey t+ tickets on a Navigo Easy for €18.90.

Indeed - they're not going to give up the tourist trap tickets anytime soon.

Not to mention the placing of CDG airport in a special zone where it wasn't covered by a zones 1-5 Mobilis, but was by a 1-5 Paris Visite, more expensive, naturally*.

*I'm presuming that 'anomaly' is still the case.

 

[island]

Indeed - they're not going to give up the tourist trap tickets anytime soon.

Not to mention the placing of CDG airport in a special zone where it wasn't covered by a zones 1-5 Mobilis, but was by a 1-5 Paris Visite, more expensive, naturally*.

*I'm presuming that 'anomaly' is still the case.

CDG is now covered by a 1-5 Mobilis, but wasn't for many years. It is still out of scope of the €5 fare cap on suburban tickets. The Orlyval connection between Antony and Orly Airport is included on a 1-5 Paris Visite but no other ticket; it's €11 single to or from Antony. Smart travellers take tram number 7 from Orly T4 to Louis Aragon for Metro line 7, taking them to the city centre for €4.20 (or less with a Navigo Easy 10-pack). The Metro line 14 extension is due to open in Q2 2024 serving Orly directly, and that will probably be curtains for the Orlyval.

 

[Thames99]

Carnets were still being sold in the Eurostar buffet on Tuesday last week, but not single tickets, so I imagine that stocks are running down.

For Paris I successfully put a Navigo Semaine ticket on my phone using the Île-de-France Mobilités app - there was some discussion upthread regarding whether UK cards would be accepted for payment - mine was. It worked well although I was often uncertain whether or not it had registered on gates and in buses as often there was normally nothing audible. It also worked on a ticket inspector's machine, so I avoided a 50 Euro fine unlike the person next to me travelling without a ticket.