Any experience with BlaBlaCar? Need to get from Paris to Chartres.

Each driver offering rides should describe where the pick up would occur in their listing. Some are more detailed than others. If one needs additional detail, there is a link associated with the trip/driver providing a means of contacting the driver with questions (or arranging a specific spot and time for pick up).

If you don't read or write French, you'll have to rely on a machine translator such as Google's or Bing's to make your question intelligible.

Consider Ouibus as a train alternate.

www.ouibus.com

Hi Carol,
I have heard that Ouibus no longer goes to Chartres? Jeff

You're correct- -- Ouibus doesn't give Chartres as an option when traveling from Paris.

Before you panic, make sure you understand the railroad strike -- not all trains on all routes are affected. Your selected train MAY run on a strike date, or you may be able to exchange your ticket for another train on the same day. We had tickets for two long-distance TGV's in April and May, both on strike dates: one ran as scheduled, the other was cancelled but we were able to exchange for a train an hour later.

BlaBlaCar is just a service linking drivers and riders, so meeting points will depend on individual drivers. You will likely need a working phone to use the service in France, as you will need to coordinate with the driver for pickup, and for him/her to alert you about any delays. My memory is that you need a phone number to originally sign up for the service, and that that number is then verified? Riders may be hesitant to pick up a used that isn’t verified. It’s a great service, but may be difficult to use for the first time as a visitor, or if you don’t speak French (though you can certainly put that detail on your profile and may get someone keen on practicing their English with you). As mentioned above, you should definitely look into whether your travel day is a strike day, and whether your particular train is affected before searching alternate routes. Another option could be to sign up for a day trip tour from Paris to Chartres—you could always just opt not to head back with the group :)

Thanks for these replies! We appreciate all the information!