Navigo pass

Navigo card
Location ParisIle-de-France
Launched 2001
Currency Euro
Validity
Website www.navigo.fr
Prototype of Navigo card before it was introduced to users
Navigo-only turnstile
Navigo validator in buses and trams
Vélib''s card reader

The Navigo card (French: Carte Navigo), formerly called the Navigo pass, is a means of payment for public transportation introduced in the Île-de-France region (whose capital is the city of Paris) in 2001. It is implemented as a contactless smart card using the Calypso standard, and enables authenticated access at turnstiles by scanning the card at an electronic reader.

Cards are available either attached to an account for those who live or work in the Île-de-France region (known simply as Carte Navigo), or can be issued on the spot to anyone at a station (Carte Navigo Découverte). While the account-based cards are free, a Découverte card costs €5 at ticket booths. Cards can be credited at ticket booths and machines for daily, weekly, or monthly use; Carte Navigo users can also buy a yearly pass, payable in one or eleven monthly payments. Unlike comparable cards issued in other major cities, there is no facility to add a certain amount of credit to the card for use on irregular journeys over a period of time. Pass holders wishing to travel outside the zones of validity may purchase an extension ticket which is loaded onto the card for immediate use; this is unnecessary on weekends and public holidays for those with a monthly or annual pass, which are valid throughout all zones irrespective of zones actually purchased.

Navigo cards can be used on the vehicles of the RATP, the SNCF (within the Transilien network), Optile, and companies under the aegis of Île-de-France Mobilités, as well as with the Vélib' bicycle rental system and the Autolib electric car sharing service Autolib.

Cards either bear a photograph of the holder or must be accompanied by a photo ID card.

History

When the system was introduced in 2001, it was only available to subscribers of the Carte Intégrale annual pass. In 2003, it was increased to users of the Carte Imagine'R student pass. From 2005, the Navigo card was available for travel within zones one and two of the Paris transportation region for Carte orange weekly and monthly passes. Since mid-May 2006, it has been possible to use the card in the entirety of the Île-de-France region in place of the paper tickets of the conventional Carte orange, which was completely discontinued in February 2009. Single-trip and 10-trip (discounted) paper tickets are still available from station agents and ticket vending machines and are accepted in all stations and buses, though busier Métro and RER stations will usually have several turnstiles set aside for Navigo card holders exclusively. Bus drivers also sell single-trip tickets.

See also

  • Cardpeek, an open-source tool to read the content of smart cards
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