Paul Corfield wrote:
On Fri, 02 Feb 2007 22:12:09 GMT, wrote:


"Richard J." wrote in message
k...
alexterrell wrote:
On 1 Feb, 09:27, Colum Mylod wrote:
[...]

If you mean the Métro in Paris, they don't have ticket gates on
the exits, so there is no need to have a human presence to ensure
that people can get out of a station. But you may well be right
about health & safety rules being less stringent in France.
--
Richard J.
(to e-mail me, swap uk and yon in address)


Does the Paris Metro or transport in the metropolitan area have any
Oyster-type system or are they still operating on those tiny
strips with the magnetic strip?

I visited Paris in 2000 and it appeared then that they were in the
process of, or preparing to, set up such a system.

RATP have been experimenting with Smartcards for almost as long as
LT. They do now have Smartcards working and installed following an
initial bus and Metro trial. IIRC they were converting people who
held annual tickets to the new format and then working their way
on to other season ticket (Carte Orange) holders. From a quick
glance it would seem they have the system installed in zones 1 and
2 (basically the Metro and core bus network) and are working out
from there.

They call it "Le Passe Navigo" - see www.ratp.fr and then click on
"le passe navigo" under the Le Club RATP listing.

Navigo is now in operation for all season tickets including the weekly
Carte Orange, similar to a 7-day Travelcard. The RATP are encouraging
all Carte Orange holders to convert to Navigo by, for example, having
teams of people in major interchange stations offering to convert paper
tickets to Navigo in 1 minute. (I'm not absolutely sure whether the
Navigo is issued on the spot or posted to the holder's address. The
early ones took 3 weeks to arrive through the post.) The advantage to
RATP is that Navigo can be renewed on a ticket machine, just like
loading a new Travelcard season on to Oyster.

The cards themselves have an integral ID photo, like a UK driving
licence, instead of a separate photo card like the paper Carte Orange.
Ticket gates all have a large circular purple disc on them where the
Navigo is read, ditto the buses. Many stations have one gate dedicated
to Navigo, i.e. without a paper ticket slot. You don't actually need to
"touch in" as it will read the card if you hold it up to about 1 cm
above the disc.

There's no sign of any PAYG facility being implemented on Navigo yet, so
they are not much use to short-stay tourists.

Magnetic tickets remain in use for Metro and RER / SNCF (Transilien)
services.

The other development in Paris is that in Métro stations they have
started to phase out the selling of tickets other than from the
machines. Only a few stations so far, but I think it will spread across
the network. There is still an RATP person behind the window, but he's
there to offer advice and information, not to sell tickets. Tickets can
still be bought over the counter at the local 'tabac' though.
--
Richard J.
(to e-mail me, swap uk and yon in address)