Montpellier paper tickets disappearing

[DeverseSam]

The image shows a poster from Montpelllier tram. It says that paper tickets are disappearing this month and to use them up.

The upside for residents is that it will become free. But not for tourists or French visitors who will apparently have the only option of using an app to buy their tickets!

I wonder whether they have checked their app is available on any country’s app stores?!

 

[dutchflyer]

More or less same applies-since many years, for city of Tallinn, Estonia. Also made free for locals, but I dk if they still have to hold some form of special card for it.
Also wonder how frequent/strict checks will be made, at least on the trams it has always been unchecked boarding and self-responsible for correct ticketing. But one wonders about economics of sending check-patrols on the go for the probably not overhigh nr of visitors.
As an aside this region of FR-Occitanie (made a visit there last oct, stayed in Toulouse) makes quite a fuss about low till free transport fares. For all trains -local TER-in the region there are daypasses (min 2, max 5 days) for just 10€/day-except that these also are only available online as I found out asking for it old-fashioned style at a ticketwindow. ON the go visited 2 smaller and quite unknown cities where local citybus was also free, incl. in 1 case a kind of local interurban to next larger town some 10/12 KMs onward. Local TER also seem to have flat 2 or 3€ fares on a few special holidays through the year.

 

[mad_rich]

I swear every European city now seems to want to make local transport as baffling as possible for tourists now. Dowloading an app is a pain if you're only going to be there for one journey. Other examples:

• You have to buy a ticket from a newsagent, and stamp it on board
• You can use contactless on some buses, but we won't tell you which ones - Rome
• You can use contactless, and sometimes you need to tap off, but not always - Brno
• You can buy your ticket from this machine and it's valid straight away, but if you buy it from that machine next to it, it needs to be stamped and we'll fine you if you don't. - Prague
• You can only pay by card
• You can only pay by cash
• You can't get single tickets any more, you need a preloaded card (except we're still selling single tickets for now) - Paris
• You can buy it from the machine on the tram (but only on some trams) - Leipzig
• You can get a 7 day ticket, but it's only valid Mon-Sun - Vienna
• Your 30 minute ticket is valid for 90 minutes (at the weekend) - Bratislava
• Your 'day ticket'. Valid until the same time tomorrow, or only till midnight? Or some time in the small hours?

If I'm somewhere for less than a couple of days, I tend to walk, use e-scooters or take taxis, rather than try to learn the local ticketing system. The €9/ month Deutschlandticket was a joy when it existed, not just because it was cheap, but because I didn't have to think about local tickets.

 

[DeverseSam]

I feel that post may merit its own thread but also:

- Your 60 minute ticket is valid in one direction only, or you can use it to come back
- Your 60 minute ticket expires after the 60 minutes, or can be used to board a vehicle at 59 minutes and stay until your destination

 

[artemic]

More or less same applies-since many years, for city of Tallinn, Estonia. Also made free for locals, but I dk if they still have to hold some form of special card for it.
Also wonder how frequent/strict checks will be made, at least on the trams it has always been unchecked boarding and self-responsible for correct ticketing. But one wonders about economics of sending check-patrols on the go for the probably not overhigh nr of visitors.

Slightly off-topic but relevant: in Tallinn, you pay 2€ for a green Ühiskaart (Smartcard; variants of which are also used for travel in Tartu and Pärnu interchangeably but do not provide free travel there) - as a resident, you can then 'personalise' it for free online or another euro in-person, which entitles you to free public transport in Tallinn municipality. No apps involved, and indeed there aren't any at all. As a visitor you can also just tap a contactless card or pay for single tickets.

AIUI anyone from other municipalities of Estonia (about half of the country!) must still pay for transport, so I presume checks are still sent out, but there is a level of trust involved which they seem to be OK with. Obviously the ratio of residents to non-residents is much larger in Montpellier: perhaps works out more worthwhile?

A shame there doesn't appear to be any smart card for Montpellier - apparently following in the steps of Paris by getting rid of paper tickets. A card doesn't run out of battery!

 

[gingerheid]

More or less same applies-since many years, for city of Tallinn, Estonia. Also made free for locals, but I dk if they still have to hold some form of special card for it.

Their green (oyster like) public transport cards have been validated as Tallinn residents.

Checks by the municipal police are pretty effective and strict, and if you haven't validated a ticket for a journey (free or otherwise) you will be paying a fine!

 

[Bletchleyite]

Would be much better to make it free for all and fund it for tourists via a tourist tax on accommodation. That way money can be saved by disbanding revenue teams.

 

[DeverseSam]

I suspect there are large numbers of student and temporary workers who are residentish but not resident enough to qualify!

 

[dutchflyer]

In some time lost I visited the original french site of TAM=agglo Mtplr and -hey, presto.: NO info at all about what tickets or payment options remain for those not so lucky to live in that beautiful city. Free trsp existing has been gradually expanded-started some years ago already as ´any weekend´ so I guess most interested in it locals already possess such a card which one indeed must hold and get at the local ´mairie´.
Its AGGLO so some (perhaps bus only) routes of it penetrate into non-Mtplr outer local areas-and I assume people so happy to live there thus also need to pay in whatever form.
As it has a slowly expanding tramsystem I visited it twice, this being my main interest. No repeat needed coming yrs.
Note that what mad-rich above quotes is not specific to Mtplr but a collection of how some cities can make their access to local trsp as uncomfy as possible can do. I also balk at having to pay like 5-6€ to get a smartcard needed to load a single ticket-cost less as 2€ on-just to reach station from HTL.
As that I do welcome the slowly but ever expanding nr of places where my VISA cd will do the trick-even if it may mean forfeit the senior discount for that single ride. Or most urban systems in CZ or PL-where it is free for any senior above 65/70 from wherever they may come.
As I mentioned this region and SNCF above: I kind f recall it is also possible to add urban transit for some cities to a trainticket to there-very UNfrench as such- trains are state and cities urban, so no cooperation! That will solve it for trainusers.