No need for me to ask a question. I am here to tell you that RATP ticketing is a pain in the petuty. I won't bore you with the details, but be prepared--ticket machines are often 50 years old and counting; the ones that do function are the newer ones but few and far between. You can still buy individual tickets, but they cost 2.5 euro. You can use them both on Metro and bus. If you wish a Navigo easy card, finally it's plastic and you pay 2 euro and you can add individual Metro trips or individual bus/tram trips. You can't use a Metro trip for a bus and vica versa. I believe you must purchase the Navigo card at the station office. Don't expect someone to be there. Sometimes they are and sometimes they're not. Not a single word has been communicated about this in the five 2024/2025 travel books I borrowed from public libary, so you're welcome for this info. If you don't have Wifi either through a sim card you paid for or your very expensive U.S. phone service provider, you best do a search when you have wifi of how to get from one place to another and write it down Good luck!
Posted by
Paris
7394 posts
I agree with you.m ,I really don't understand why they decided to go for different tickets for bus and for metro/train, a flat fee for everything would have been fine.
Still, believe it or not, the new ticketing system is simpler than the old one. It started in Jan 2025, hence why no info in guidebooks. Also, buses are less and less useful for visitors to Paris anyway - very slow, unpredictable frequencies.
Last but not least, Navigo Easy cards are also dispensed at some machines. In cardboard form IIRC, but it works.
Posted by
Singapore
731 posts
Rather than messing about with tickets, you can just pay by phone - just download the IDF Mobilités app. I agree it's not the simplest system (would be easier if they accepted contactless credit/debit cards) but there's plenty of info on their web site.
Posted by
United States
91 posts
I used the IDF mobilities app when we were in Paris the past October and it was so convenient! and fantastic! Only purchased a couple of metro tickets, and added them to my apple wallet, then just tapped and went. Took so much stress out of using the metro.
For taxi rides, I downloaded the official Parisien taxi app, G7 Taxi. It works just like Uber, so no need to worry about having enough cash on hand or whether the driver accepts credit cards. Very efficient and reasonable, especially at night or when travelling to a location that might require several metro changes.
Posted by
Chicago
8939 posts
This is a classic response to change. The big value in having separate tickets (which I agree is a pain) for bus and metro is that for only 2.50 you can now go anywhere you want in the ile de France. No more individually priced RER tickets and the chance of being fined for not having the right ticket at exit. They are keeping bus fares at a lower price hence separate tickets.
Once you have your Navigo Easy it is simple to use, stable (no demagnetized tickets and fines) and easy to reload. You also have the card and thus are not likely to throw away your ticket too soon or lose it and get heavily fined for not being able tot produce it. There are far fewer 'traps' for unwary tourists with this simple card system.
The machines in metros that reload cards are not 50 years old; the reloadable cards haven't been around all that long and I have never found one that doesn't work (not that I'm sure you didn't encounter some). They can be set to English and are pretty easy to use. Metros all have staffed booths -- and yes, if the clerk is on break they might be unstaffed for awhile but again usually someone is there.
Things are different in Paris public transport -- mostly better but there are idiosyncracies that are annoying. And it is always confusing to use a new system.
Posted by
San Jose, CA
99 posts
OK then, so what is the recommendation for a couple who might take metro or might take bus, but we won't plan ahead enough to know how many trips to prepurchase? Can we still buy a carnet?
Posted by
OP
2 posts
You buy the Navigo easy card at a Metro station office. More often than not, someone is there, but sometimes not. You pay 2 euro for each card. Attendant will load whatever you need, say, 4 roundtrip Metro and 4 roundtrip bus/tram (8 and 8), but it doesn't have to be roundtrip. And you can reload as you need at the machines. But note, we have had issues with some machines. Once it refused my credit card whereas another machine accepted it. We had two cards and loaded each with both bus and train tickets. It takes a bit of time. Patients. But we managed. The card is good for 10 years apparently. One other hitch is not knowing what's on the card. You can place on machine in Metro to determine how many are left.