End of the line for Paris’ iconic metro ticket

[Hadders]

I can confirm that packs of 10 carnet tickets are sold at Eurostar buffet cars as I purchased some a couple of weeks ago.

The queues at the Paris Metro ticket machines at major stations (not just Gare du Nord) are ridiculous. Took us 15 minutes queueing at Montparnasse to reach the front of the queue. I really don't understand why they don't just install contactless.

 

[camperdown9]

I was in Paris a few days ago and went to get a Navigo easy card with 10 journeys. The actual card is not available from the machine but I believe it can be topped up at a machine. At Gare de Lyon there were two RAPT staff standing at the start of the queue and only when they though passengers had a real reason to joint the queue would they let you. There then followed a 30 min wait to get to the top of the queue. There was only one person working at the ticket window.

 

[D6130]

My wife and I have Navigo Easy cards which we use four times a year when we spend a couple of nights in Paris en route to and from Italy. If you need to purchase one of these cards, I would suggest visiting another less busy Metro or RER station a short distance away from the main line station, where the queues are invariable shorter and the staff less hassled. (e.g. Magenta for Gare du Nord/Gare de l'Est or Reuilly-Diderot for Gare de Lyon).

 

[AY1975]

I can confirm that packs of 10 carnet tickets are sold at Eurostar buffet cars as I purchased some a couple of weeks ago.

How much did they cost?

In that case I'm guessing that the Eurostar bar car is the last remaining place where you can still buy paper carnet tickets, but neither Eurostar, RATP nor Île-de-France Mobilités seem to advertise the fact that you can still get them there on their websites (you wouldn't expect RATP or Île-de-France Mobilités to do so but you'd think Eurostar might want to).

 

[camperdown9]

As of 1st Jan the price of single tickets have increased from €1.90 to €2.30. A weekly pass is now €30.00 was €22.80

 

[AY1975]

As of 1st Jan the price of single tickets have increased from €1.90 to €2.30. A weekly pass is now €30.00 was €22.80

Yes, and rather oddly the list of fares on the Île-de-France Mobilités website (www.iledefrance-mobilites.fr) still mentions a paper carnet at €19.10 full price or €9.55 reduced. It doesn't seem to tell you where you can still get them, but the Paris Info site (www.parisinfo.com) still offers a paper carnet at €21 full price or €10.50 reduced. It would appear that items ordered from there can either be posted to you (albeit for a charge of €18 to the UK or any other European country, and obviously time permitting), delivered to any Paris hotel for €12, or collected from their information centre at the Gare du Nord or Hôtel de Ville.

So I would guess that Eurostar bar cars and Paris Info are the last two remaining outlets that sell paper carnets, and probably not for much longer.

 

[AY1975]

UPDATE: It would appear that paper carnets are no longer available to order via the Paris Info site (www.parisinfo.com). They are still listed on there but if you click on the button marked "Reserver" it takes you to the parisjetaime.com site, which tells you that this product is no longer available to purchase online here.

However, it does appear to say that you can still buy them in person at the two Paris tourist offices at the Gare du Nord and the Hôtel de Ville on rue du Rivoli. Does anyone know if you can still get them in the Eurostar bar cars? It would appear that you still could get them from there in late 2022.

 

[Birkonian]

UPDATE: It would appear that paper carnets are no longer available to order via the Paris Info site (www.parisinfo.com). They are still listed on there but if you click on the button marked "Reserver" it takes you to the parisjetaime.com site, which tells you that this product is no longer available to purchase online here.

However, it does appear to say that you can still buy them in person at the two Paris tourist offices at the Gare du Nord and the Hôtel de Ville on rue du Rivoli. Does anyone know if you can still get them in the Eurostar bar cars? It would appear that you still could get them from there in late 2022.

Are the paper tickets valid on buses?

 

[AY1975]

Are the paper tickets valid on buses?

Yes, AFAIK they still are. They always used to be, at least since the magnetic strip tickets were introduced in the 1970s.

 

[dutchflyer]

And trams too. A very long time ago longer suburban buslines had sections-with long trips requiring more as 1 ticket/billet to be validated. Just as LT had distance fares long ago on its red buses. But I think that since a few yrs on bus/tram (NOT to/fro metro/RER) it now even allows 1 transfer (within 60 or 90 mins after 1st), but not 100% sure on that.
Incidentally, arrived from a snowy home into sunny Malaga airport yesterday and found/saw a used RATP-such ticket lying in the corridor. Just a coincidence.
I assume €*/offices will sell the 10-ride carnets till stock is exhausted (they do not have printed prices on them-so no need to exchange after the yearly fare-hike) and then its all over. This can thus also lead to: in train 1 they still have them-in train 2 not.
I also kind of remember that train-staff were making a few cents in pocket money in selling tickets from carnet as singles-this was expressly forbidden and stated in all official documents-once (think of pre-2000, also pre-€) this was pretty common to see also at stations.
As about any french urban system had a type of carnet in whatever form, some had indeed funny/intricate measures to prevent this form of ´mis´use. As most now use whatever type of chipcard, this is fading away into history.
For those saying that RATP should introduce contactless _LONdon (and now as OV-pay also about anywhere in NL)-style payments with bankcards: as we also had in NL there is a fundamental and non-compatible system clash in handling chipcards and bankcards-in NL all validators on bus/tram had to be replaced.

 

[DanielB]

For those saying that RATP should introduce contactless _LONdon (and now as OV-pay also about anywhere in NL)-style payments with bankcards: as we also had in NL there is a fundamental and non-compatible system clash in handling chipcards and bankcards-in NL all validators on bus/tram had to be replaced.

No, it was just a software update in NL.

 

[matt]

Had no trouble buying a paper ticket to travel from Gare du Nord to Gare de Lyon last week from the machine. No queues either at the machines.

 

[alexdodds]

I went to Paris in 2019 and got a navigo card with a weekly ticket on. Had to take a passport photo and I still have the card. It was 24 euros to use on the whole system for the week and much cheaper than an all zones weekly London ticket.

 

[WessexEclectic]

What's the current view on the best bet for tickets for one day's worth of travelling on the Metro & RER? - and bus?

Paper carnets were still available from E* buffet at beginning of March but will be traveling via CDG next week.

 

[D6130]

Paper carnets were still available from the buffet on ES 9032, 14 31 STP-PAN when I travelled on it today.

 

[AY1975]

According to this map on the RATP website https://www.ratp.fr/sites/default/files/inline-files/Carte-Vagues-Ticket+-8.pdf paper carnets are being withdrawn from sale at Metro stations in three phases, starting with phase 1 stations shown in blue from 14th October 2021, followed by phase 2 stations shown in orange from 13th October 2022 and, lastly, phase 3 stations shown in green during 2023 but with no exact date given for withdrawal. I would guess that it's a case of while stocks last.

At phase 1 and phase 2 stations, carnets ceased to be available from ticket vending machines from those dates but could still be bought from ticket offices until spring 2022. At phase 3 stations, the ticket offices already stopped selling them after that date so once the machines also stop selling them that'll be it.

The choice of which stations would fall into which phase of withdrawal of carnets seems somewhat arbitrary, although most major interchange stations seem to be phase 3.

Has anyone recently managed to buy a paper carnet from a machine at any of the phase 3 stations shown on that map, or from a Eurostar buffet car or one of the two Paris tourist offices at the Gare du Nord and the Hôtel de Ville on rue du Rivoli?

As of 1st Jan the price of single tickets have increased from €1.90 to €2.30.

Both the RATP and the Île-de-France Mobilités website give it as €2.10 as of 1st January 2023. I wonder if this means it was increased to €2.30 from that date but later reduced to €2.10. Or maybe it was originally planned to rise from €1.90 to €2.30 but was later capped at €2.10.

 

[WesternLancer]

If one has unused ones (I always keep spares so as to have them handy on arrival in Paris rather than queue) that will presumably become invalid soon. I will be passing through Paris later in the summer. Is there a way to exchange them for something that will be valid in future or obtain a refund for their value?

 

[citycat]

Passed through Gare du Nord on Saturday and will again tomorrow. Single paper tickets still available. I always use the machines away from the main ticket hall to avoid the queues.

 

[AY1975]

If one has unused ones (I always keep spares so as to have them handy on arrival in Paris rather than queue) that will presumably become invalid soon. I will be passing through Paris later in the summer. Is there a way to exchange them for something that will be valid in future or obtain a refund for their value?

Probably eventually but hopefully not for a while yet (see my comment in entry #53 on page 2 of this thread). I would hope that when RATP does finally get rid of slots for paper tickets on the Metro ticket gates you'll be able to exchange any unused paper tickets for credit on a smartcard, but I wouldn't hold my breath!

 

[WesternLancer]

Probably eventually but hopefully not for a while yet (see my comment in entry #53 on page 2 of this thread). I would hope that when RATP does finally get rid of slots for paper tickets on the Metro ticket gates you'll be able to exchange any unused paper tickets for credit on a smartcard, but I wouldn't hold my breath!

Thanks - sounds like I can / should aim to use them up in august when travelling.

 

[Birkonian]

Eurostar were still selling the cardboard tickets 3 weeks go and I was able to purchase them from a ticket machine at Gare de Lyon yesterday.

 

[AY1975]

Eurostar were still selling the cardboard tickets 3 weeks go and I was able to purchase them from a ticket machine at Gare de Lyon yesterday.

Were both those outlets still selling both single tickets and carnets?

 

[Birkonian]

I didn't check the carnet option but I purchased individual tickets from both Eurostar and a ticket machine.

 

[30907]

My son and wife got a Carnet from Eurostar a week ago.

 

[AY1975]

The RATP site now says paper carnets will no longer be available from any RATP ticket offices or machines from 21st September, having already been withdrawn from sale at most stations apart from a few key interchange stations as I alluded to in entry #76 above.

It remains to be seen if they are still sold on Eurostar bar cars after that date. There is no longer any mention of paper carnets on the Paris Info or parisjetaime.com site, which would suggest that you can no longer get them from the Paris tourist offices at the Gare du Nord and the Hôtel de Ville.

 

[Birkonian]

They need to sort something out for visitors to Paris. I've I tended to buy the Navigo pass on more then one occasion but the queues at Gard de Nord are ridiculous. I've downloaded the app, purchased tickets but the barriers don't recognise them. The Olympic Games are in Paris next year so they need to come up with something visitor-friendly. They probably won't.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

They need to sort something out for visitors to Paris. I've I tended to buy the Navigo pass on more then one occasion but the queues at Gard de Nord are ridiculous. I've downloaded the app, purchased tickets but the barriers don't recognise them. The Olympic Games are in Paris next year so they need to come up with something visitor-friendly. They probably won't.

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.

 

[Birkonian]

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.

That's been my plan for the last few years, but when you've queued for 15 minutes and there are still 20 in front with just one counter open you give up.

 

[gc4946]

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?

 

[D6130]

Do E* sell the Navigo smartcards?

Not at the moment....but maybe they will do so once the paper tickets have finally been abolished?