The Navigo card () is a contactless smart card used to travel on public transport in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and

Île-de-France The Île-de-France (; ; ) is the most populous of the eighteen regions of France, with an official estimated population of 12,271,794 residents on 1 January 2023. Centered on the capital Paris, it is located in the north-central part of the cou ...

. The card is based on the Calypso standard, initially implemented with

Radio-frequency identification Radio-frequency identification (RFID) uses electromagnetic fields to automatically Automatic identification system, identify and Tracking system, track tags attached to objects. An RFID system consists of a tiny radio transponder called a tag, ...

(RFID) technology before transitioning to

Near-field communication Near-field communication (NFC) is a set of communication protocols that enables communication between two electronic devices over a distance of or less. NFC offers a low-speed connection through a simple setup that can be used for the boots ...

(NFC) technology. The card can be purchased and loaded with fares and passes at staffed ticket windows and select ticket machines. The card enables access to stations and vehicles by scanning it at turnstiles and readers. Since July 2018, the card can be recharged directly using a

smartphone A smartphone is a mobile phone with advanced computing capabilities. It typically has a touchscreen interface, allowing users to access a wide range of applications and services, such as web browsing, email, and social media, as well as multi ...

. Since September 2019, a digital card can be used in place of a physical card using smartphone and smartwatch apps, such as

Île-de-France Mobilités Île-de-France Mobilités (IDFM) is the governmental authority ( EPA) that controls and coordinates the different companies operating the Paris-area public transport network and the rest of the Île-de-France region. In this capacity, it issu ...

Apple Wallet Apple Wallet (or simply Wallet, known as Passbook prior to iOS 9) is a digital wallet developed by Apple Inc. and included with iOS and watchOS that allows users to store Wallet passes such as coupons, boarding passes, Campus card, student ID c ...

, or

Samsung Wallet Samsung Wallet (, or simply Wallet) is a digital wallet platform developed by Samsung. It is available for the Samsung Galaxy-exclusive One UI Android operating system, and was announced on February 9, 2022, at the February 2022 Samsung Unpa ...

Card types

Navigo

The ''Navigo Travel Card'' is available to those who live or work in Paris or Île-de-France. The card itself is available for free. The name and photograph of the user are printed on the card. The card can be loaded with Day Tickets, Week Tickets, Month Tickets, and Year Tickets. The card cannot be loaded with Métro-Train-RER Tickets, Bus-Tram Tickets, Airports Tickets, RoissyBus Tickets, or Paris Visite Tickets. The card can also be used for identification on the

Vélib' is a large-scale public bicycle sharing system in Paris, France. The system encompasses more than 16,000 bikes and 1,400 stations. The name ''Vélib is a portmanteau of the French words ''vélo'' (''"bicycle"'') and ''liberté'' ("freedom"). ...

bicycle rental system.

Navigo Découverte

The ''Navigo Découverte Travel Card'' is available to everyone, including tourists from outside Paris or Île-de-France. The card itself is available for a one-time fee of €5 at staffed ticket windows. The card includes a cardboard wrapper and a plastic holder; the user must write their name and attach a photograph to the cardboard wrapper before placing it in the plastic holder. The card can be loaded with Day Tickets, Week Tickets, and Month Tickets. The card cannot be loaded with Métro-Train-RER Tickets, Bus-Tram Tickets, Airports Tickets, RoissyBus Tickets, Year Tickets, or Paris Visite Tickets. The card can also be used for identification on the

bicycle rental system.

Navigo Easy

The ''Navigo Easy Travel Card'' is available to everyone, including tourists from outside Paris or Île-de-France. The card itself is available for a one-time fee of €2 at staffed ticket windows and select ticket machines. The card does not need to be personalised with a name or photograph. The card can be loaded with Métro-Train-RER Tickets, Bus-Tram Tickets, Airports Tickets, RoissyBus Tickets, Day Tickets, and Paris Visite Tickets. The card cannot be loaded with Week Tickets, Month Tickets, or Year Tickets. The card can also be used for identification on the

bicycle rental system.

Navigo on Smartphone

The ''Navigo on Smartphone'' is a digital version of Navigo, available to everyone via the Île-de-France Mobilités app, Bonjour RATP app, SNCF Connect app, Apple Wallet app or Samsung Wallet app. The card is available for free. The card can be loaded with Métro-Train-RER Tickets, Bus-Tram Tickets, Airports Tickets, RoissyBus Tickets, Day Tickets, Week Tickets, Month Tickets, Year Tickets, and Paris Visite Tickets.

Card matrix

History

When the Navigo card was first introduced in 2001, it was only made available to subscribers of the

Carte Intégrale Carte may refer to: People * Alexander Carte (1805–1881), Irish British zoologist * Anto Carte (1886–1954), Belgian painter * Helen Carte (1852–1913), Scottish British businesswoman * Richard Carte (1808–1891), British flute-maker * Samu ...

annual pass. From 2003, the card was made available to subscribers of the

Carte Imagine'R The Forfait Imagine R is a travel pass for students and young people (aged between 12 and 25). It provides unlimited public transport in the Île-de-France on all services provided by the RATP (the regional public transport authority) and the SNCF ...

annual pass. From 2004, the card was made available to subscribers of the

Carte Orange The carte orange (Orange Card) was a pass for the public transportation system in Paris and the surrounding Île-de-France region. A holder of the pass was entitled to unlimited use of the public transit system within a given period of time, wi ...

weekly and monthly passes within zones 1 and 2. From 2005, the card was made available to subscribers of the

weekly and monthly passes in all tramways and buses. From 2006, the card could be used in all means of public transport in the entirety of

in place of the conventional Carte Orange, which was discontinued in 2009. From 2007, the card became compatible with

, the

bicycle-sharing system A bicycle-sharing system, bike share program, public bicycle scheme, or public bike share (PBS) scheme, is a shared transport service where bicycles are available for shared use by individuals at low cost. The programmes themselves include both ...

; the card also became compatible with

Autolib Autolib' was an electric car, electric car sharing service which was inaugurated in Paris, France, in December 2011. It closed on 31 July 2018. It was operated by the Bolloré industry and complemented the city's bike sharing system, Velib', wh ...

, the car-sharing system, until they ceased operations in 2018. On 1 September 2007, the ''Carte Navigo Découverte'' was introduced. On 9 December 2013, both card types were redesigned by

Philippe Starck Philippe Starck (; born 18 January 1949) is a French industrial architect and designer known for his wide range of designs, including interior design, architecture, household objects, furniture, boats and other vehicles. His most popular pieces ...

to use NFC instead of RFID. On 12 June 2019, the ''Carte Navigo Easy'' was introduced. On 13 November 2019, the ''Navigo Liberté+'' subscription service was introduced. Since July 2018, the card can be recharged directly using a

. Since September 2019, a digital card can be used in place of a physical card using smartphone and smartwatch apps, such as

, or

. File:Navigo prototype.jpg, Navigo prototype File:Validateur Navigo Metro-RER.JPG, Navigo turnstile at metro station File:Valideur Navigo IDFM.jpg, Navigo reader on board tram File:Bornettes Velib'.JPG, Navigo reader at

station

References

External links

Île-de-France Mobilités website
{{Paris transport network Fare collection systems in France Transport in Île-de-France Contactless smart cards

Card types

Navigo

Navigo Découverte

Navigo Easy

Navigo on Smartphone

Card matrix

History

See also

References

External links