Public transport fares in the Île-de-France

Public transport fares in the Île-de-France are set using a system of concentric fare zones radiating from central Paris, and are implemented with a mixture of paper and electronic tickets. Prices are determined by Île-de-France Mobilités, the regional autorité organisatrice de transports ("Regional Transport Organisational Authority"). As of January 2024, single tickets within Paris cost €2.15, and monthly passes covering all fare zones cost €86.40.^[1]

Zones

 

Fare zones

The public transport network of Île-de-France Mobilités is divided into 5 zones. Zone 1 covers the city of Paris, and zones 2-5 surround it. Zone 4 includes Versailles, and zone 5 includes Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports, and Disneyland Paris.

Starting 1991, there were 8 zones. On 1 July 2007, zones 7 and 8 were merged into zone 6. On 1 July 2011, zone 6 was itself merged into zone 5. This was done to reduce transportation costs for residents of outer suburbs. On 11 February 2015, STIF (as Île-de-France Mobilités was then known) voted to discontinue passes covering zones 1–2, 1–3, and 1–4, leaving only passes covering all zones (and passes covering only zones outside zone 1). The price of a monthly pass for zones 1-5 was lowered from €116.50 to €70 (which was the price of the monthly pass for zones 1-2 prior to the change).^[2]

Ticket types

Île-de-France Mobilités sells several kinds of ticket. Single tickets are intended for occasional passengers. Combination and season tickets are aimed at regular travellers and those touring the region, and can be bought for various periods of validity. Tickets can be loaded onto "Navigo" smart cards, which come in various types, such as Navigo Easy for single and day tickets, and Navigo and Navigo Découverte for longer-term passes. Some tickets are also sold as paper tickets.

Ticket types and availability by medium (prices as of January 2024)

		Ticket medium
	Zones	Paper ticket	Navigo Easy	Navigo Decouverte	Navigo
Medium availability			€2 (counters and some ticket machines)	€5 (counters, needs passport photo)	free (only available to residents)
Single ticket (t+)	1	€2.15	€2.15 (€17.35 for 10)
Single ticket (origine-destination)	1-5	up to €5
Day pass	1-2/1-5	€8.65/€20.60	€8.65/€20.60	€8.65/€20.60	€8.65/€20.60
Paris Visite (1/2/3/5 days)	1-3/1-5	€13.95 to €76.25
Week pass (Monday-Sunday)	1-5			€30.75	€30.75
Month pass (calendar month)	1-5			€86.40	€86.40
Year pass	1-5				€86.40 (12th month free)

Single tickets

Ticket t+

 

Ticket t+ in paper form

 

Some ticket machines in major train stations sell Navigo Easy cards, like this one. Elsewhere, they need to be purchased from a staffed counter.

Main article: Ticket t+

The Ticket t+ is the most basic ticket in Île-de-France, allowing one journey on the Métro, the RER within zone 1, the tramways (except express tramways T11, T12, and T13), the bus network, and the Montmartre furnicular. It allows for transfers between different buses and trams (but not Métro) within 90 minutes of its first validation. Transfers between different Métro lines are possible until the user exits a station. As of January 2024, it is sold for €2.15 in paper form or to be loaded onto a Navigo Easy smartcard. It is also sold in a carnet of 10 tickets for a reduced price of €17.35 on Navigo Easy.^[3] (In a phase-out beginning in October 2021 and ending in September 2023, reduced price carnets of paper tickets were discontinued and are now only available on Navigo Easy.)^[4][5] Navigo Easy cards are sold for €2, and are not personalized. Children pay half-price for a carnet.

Origin-destination single ticket

The billet origine-destination, sometimes called the billet Île-de-France ("Île-de-France ticket"), is a paper ticket that allows for a point-to-point journey between two stations in the Île-de-France region (including those outside zone 1) served by suburban Transilien or RER trains, or by express tramways (T11, T12, and T13). The fare depends on the distance travelled, and the ticket is also available in a carnet of ten tickets, at a reduction of 20% on the single ticket price. It can be used in either direction between origin and destination. Tickets for trips that start or end within Paris, or that pass through Paris, allow for the use of the Métro for connections. There is no limit to how far in advance a ticket can be purchased before being validated, but once validated it is valid for 2 hours only. Since 2022, the price of the billet origine-destination has been capped at a maximum of €5 (or €4 when purchased in a carnet), except for trips starting or ending at CDG airport (from where tickets to central Paris cost €11.85, as of 2024).

Combination and season tickets

 

A Navigo card which can hold day, week, month, or annual passes. A photo of the ticket holder is printed on the reverse side.

Navigo

Main article: Navigo card

Navigo is a smartcard on which passes valid for a day, a week, a month, or a year may be loaded. Navigo cards are available to people living or working in Île-de-France, and have a photo of the user printed on them. Navigo Découverte cards are available to everyone at a cost of €5, and must be personalized by attaching a passport sized photograph before being valid for use. Passes can be loaded with the following passes:

• A day pass (Forfait Navigo Jour), valid for one day within the chosen fare zones (between two and five zones). As of January 2024, the cheapest day ticket costs €8.65 and is valid for 2 zones (e.g. zones 1–2), and a ticket for all zones (zones 1–5) costs €20.60. This ticket can also be loaded onto a Navigo Easy pass (which is not personalized), and an equivalent ticket is available at the same prices in paper form (Forfait Mobilis), on which name and date need to be written by hand before use. For people under 26 years old, a cheaper day pass is available on Saturdays and Sundays (Forfait Navigo Jeunes Week-end); this ticket was known as Ticket Jeunes (in paper form) until 2019.
• A week pass (Forfait Navigo Semaine), valid from Monday to Sunday, available for all zones (zones 1–5) for €30.75, or for zones 2–3, 3–4, or 4–5 for a reduced price. The ticket can be purchased starting on Friday of the previous week (with its validity starting on Monday) until the Thursday of the week of validity (with validity ending on Sunday).
• A month pass (Forfait Navigo Mois), valid for 1 calendar month (from the first to the last day of the month), available for all zones (zones 1–5) for €86.40, or for zones 2–3, 3–4, or 4–5 for a reduced price. They are sold starting at the 20th of the prior month.
• An annual pass (Forfait Navigo Annuel), valid for 12 months starting from the first of a chosen month. Its monthly cost is the same as the Forfait Navigo Mois, but the 12th month is free. Annual passes are not available on the Navigo Découverte card.

For a journey to be valid, the pass must include all zones from the origin to the destination, including all zones passed through (even if no interchange is made there). Monthly and annual passes issued for two zones are valid for all zones on weekends, public holidays, and from mid-July to mid-August. The ticket can be used for any number of journeys on any form of public transport in the region (except Orlyval).

Navigo cards can also be linked with the Navigo Liberté+ service, which allows users who reside or work in Île-de-France to pay for all their trips at the end of each month by direct debit from their bank account. Users are billed for single tickets at the carnet price, with a daily cap at the price of a day pass. Navigo Liberté+ also allows for transfers between the Métro/RER and the bus/tram network without a second charge (unlike the Ticket t+). It does not allow for use of the RER outside zone 1.

Prior to 2009, passes were sold on a carte orange with a magnetic strip. Until 2011, annual passes were previously sold under the name Carte Intégrale.

Carte Imagine'R

Main article: Carte Imagine'R

The Carte Imagine'R is a ticket for students between 12 and 25 years of age. Valid for a year, it can be used on all modes of public transport in the region. Mondays to Fridays it can be used only in the zones assigned to the ticket, but at weekends and during public and school holidays the zones are relaxed and it can be used throughout the region. It also acts as a discount card in many large retailers and at other attractions.

Paris Visite

Main article: Paris Visite

 

Paris Visite 3 day ticket, 3 zones, 2017

The Paris Visite is an all-day ticket aimed at tourists with four periods of validity: one, two, three or five consecutive days. It allows unlimited travel within the chosen zones (1–3 or 1–5) on all modes of transport – except the Filéo at Charles de Gaulle Airport, tourist buses, and Le Bus Direct services. Tickets for zones 1-5 allow travel to Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports.^[6] It is issued as a paper ticket, on which the traveller's name and the dates of validity must be written by hand before use.

Specialized tickets and discount cards

Forfait Antipollution

On select days with high air pollution, designated by the Préfecture de Police, a reduced-price day ticket called Forfait Antipollution is available for €3.80.^[7] It covers all modes of transport (except Orlyval) in zones 1–5, and is available as a paper ticket or can be loaded onto any Navigo card.

Carte Améthyste

Main article: Carte Améthyste

The Carte Améthyste is a discount card for the elderly and the disabled (aged over 20).^{[Note 1]} It allows free travel on all modes of transport throughout the Île-de-France.

Carte Solidarité Transport

The Carte Solidarité Transport is a discount card for those in great need, those on sickness benefits, those on unemployment benefits, single parents, and those earning the Revenu minimum d'insertion (RMI, a minimum earnings guarantee).^[8] It provides a discount of 50% on single tickets and 75% on monthly and weekly Carte orange tickets. The carte has a validity of one year and is intended for those in receipt of benefits. It is only available on demand, and exclusively by telephone (on a free call) through the Solidarité Transport agency.

Moreover, residents receiving Revenu de solidarité active (RSA, a form of social welfare) can use all of the road and rail network for free (except the Orlyval). Since 1 December 2008 this has also applied to those receiving the Allocation spécifique de solidarité, another benefit. Beneficiaries of RMI must renew their pass every three months, and the credits are automatically assigned to a Navigo pass or at a charging station.

History

In 1900, a second-class Paris Métro ticket cost 15 centimes of the old franc, and a first-class ticket 25 centimes. In 1960, it cost 37 centimes of the new franc.^{[Note 2]} Six hundred million Métro tickets were sold that year, an average of around 1,500 a minute.^[9]

•  
  Tramway tickets issued by the Compagnie Est Parisien ("Eastern Paris Company") (before 1921)
•  
  Métro tickets issued by the Compagnie du chemin de fer métropolitain de Paris (CMP) ("Paris Metropolitan Railway Company") (1900 – 1945)
•  
  Carnet of bus tickets from the Société des transports en commun de la région parisienne (STRCP) ("Paris region public transport society") (1921 – 1948)
•  
  First design of the Carte Orange (1975)

First class was abolished in 1991 on the Métro,^[10] and in 1999 on the rest of the railway network in the Île-de-France.^[11]

•  
  MP 59 in 1964: first class in yellow and second class in blue
•  
  MS 61 in 1982: First class section with yellow detailing

See also

•  Transport portal

• Transport in Paris

Notes

1. Subject to a maximum annual income.
2. In January 1960 the French franc was rebased so that 1 new franc equalled 100 old francs.

References

1. "Le passe Navigo coûtera 86,40 € en 2024. Pourquoi ?". Île-de-France Mobilités (in French). 2023-12-06. Retrieved 2024-01-23.
3. "Les tarifs Île-de-France Mobilités 2023". Île-de-France Mobilités (in French). Retrieved 2023-01-01.
4. "Transport : Fin définitive du carnet de tickets de métro en carton reportée, voici pourquoi".
5. "Fin du carnet de tickets de métro à Paris : quelle est la meilleure alternative pour son séjour ?". Le Figaro (in French). 2023-09-21. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
6. "Paris Visite : presentation" (in English, French, German, Spanish, Dutch, and Japanese). RATP. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
7. "Anti-pollution Ticket". Île-de-France Mobilités. Retrieved 2022-12-08.
8. "La tarification sociale dans les transports urbains, la mise en œuvre de l'article 123 de la loi SRU" (PDF) (Press release) (in French). Conseil général des ponts et chaussées. August 2006. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
9. "Tout ce qu'il faut savoir sur le ticket de métro" [Everything you need to know about Métro tickets] (in French). Le Parisien. 4 November 2010. Retrieved 8 November 2011.
10. "Abolition de la 1er classe dans le métro" [Abolition of first class on the Métro] (in French). French Senate. 5 December 1991. Retrieved 8 November 2011.
11. "Matériel Roulant du RER" [RER rolling stock] (in French). symbioz.net. Retrieved 8 November 2011.

External links

• Tickets and fares on the website of Île-de-France Mobilités.