Paris > Transportation > Navigo Easy
The RATP's "Navigo Easy" pass is a convenientstored-value card. It will soon replace cardboard T+ Métro, RER, bus, and tramtickets, but you can buy it and use it right now.
ABOVE: With Navigo Easy, you can load single-ridetransit fares and carnets onto your card for "pay as you go" convenience.
ByDurant Imboden
The Paris public-transitsystem is remarkable: The Métro system alone has more than 300 stations on 16lines with a total length of 214 kilometers or 133 miles. Add in RER trains,buses, trams, the Montmartre funicular, and Transilien commuter rail, and you'vegot a network that will take you practically anywhere in the Paris regionwithout any need for a car or taxi.
Still,the system has had an Achilles' heel: Thetraditional T+ cardboard tickets are a nuisance to carry around and don't alwayswork with the magnetic ticket readers. But now there's a convenient solution:Navigo Easy, a stored-valueplastic card from RATP (the Paris transit agency) with an embedded chip that replaces cardboard tickets.
Unlike other Paris transportation passes, Navigo Easy is a simple "pay as yougo" card. You use it just like a T+ ticket, except that you swipe the cardagainst an electronic reader instead of inserting a ticket into a turnstile slot.
What it costs:
The card itself costs €2,--, whether you're an adultor a child.
A single ride costs the same as acardboard ticket: €1,90 for an adult or a child over 4 years of age. (Kids under4 ride free.)
To save money, youcan buy an electronic Navigo Easy carnet of 10 rides for €14,90, which represents a bigdiscount over paper tickets. That works out to less than€1,50 per ride, which makes time-defined passes such as Mobilis or Paris Visitehardly worth the bother unless you plan to spend your day riding transit.
For children from ages 4 through 9, a carnet is halfprice.
You can also load a number of special fares onto Navigo Easy,such as Roissybus (for Charles de Gaulle Airport), Orlybus (Orly Airport), andan "all you can ride" Navigo Day Pass.
Where to buy Navigo Easy:
You can purchase a Navigo Easy card(with fares preloaded) at any Paris Métro or RERticket booth. Pay in cash or with a credit or debit card.If you're buying cards for children, make this clear to the ticket agent.
We suggestasking for "Navigo Easy avec un carnet." The ticket agent will load 10rides onto the card, so you'll be ready to use Navigo Easy right away.
How to use the card:
Simplyhold your Navigo Easy card against the purple area on the turnstile or the buscard reader.
Please note:
At some stationexits, or when connecting between the Métro and RER, you may be required toswipe your card again to confirm that you've paid a fare.
Navigo Easy is an "anonymous" card, with no photo orsignature required. You can share it with other travelers,but not at the same time. (In other words, Joe can lend his card to Jo, butJoe and Jo can't travel together with a single card.)
Adding rides to your Navigo Easy card:
1. Look for the ticketmachines in any Metro or RER station, and pick a machine with a purple cardreader on the front.
3. Place and hold your Navigo Easy cardagainst the purple reader.
4. Select the number of single-ride tickets or 10-ride carnets that youwant to buy.
5. Click "Validate" toconfirm your request.
6. Follow the payment instructions on the screen.(In this example, I used a foreign credit card.)
7. Place and hold your Navigo Easy card against the card reader again.
8. Wait while the machineloads your fares or carnets onto the card.When the process is complete, the screen will say "Your pass is now loaded."
9. Wait for your receipt to be printed.
10. Swipe to ride, using thepurple card readers on station turnstiles, buses, and trams.
A confirmation window behind or below the scanner shows howmany rides you have left. You can also check your fare balance at Navigo ticketmachines or at ticket counters in stations.
| Also see: |
| Paris Métro |
| Carnets (10 or 20 rides) |
| Paris RER |
| Paris buses |
| Paris trams |
| Montmartre funicular |
About the author:
Durant Imbodenis a professional travel writer, book author, and editor who focuses on Europeancities and transportation.
After 4-1/2 years of covering European travel topics for About.com, Durant andCheryl Imboden co-founded Europe for Visitors (including Paris for Visitors) in2001. Thesite has earned "Best of the Web" honors from Forbes and TheWashington Post.
For more information, seeAboutour site,press clippings, andreadertestimonials.
"Best of the Web"
- Forbes and The Washington Post
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