Carte orange; is photo needed if bought from machine?
 

I recently read on an older posting that a visitor to Paris purchased the Carte Orange metro pass from a vending machine and used it on the Metro only. He said that he did not have a photo on it. <BR>Do you need to attach a photo to this pass when it is bought from a machine? Are you supposed to? My wife and I will like to buy this, if we need a photo, what size? Can it be photo printed on regular paper from our computor?

Frank, <BR>I posted that message. You do not need a photo at all. What you get is a regular looking green metro ticket that is simply valid for the entire week. You are not required to have a picture for the metro with this pass. My guess is that the picture may be needed (if at all) to be shown to the driver if you use the bus system.

Thanks Bill, <BR>I assume then that it can be used on the buses. It sounds like the best buy. Can you get it at all large Metro stops?

Frankly, Frank, I think that Bill is wrong. The RATP website states clearly (in French) that the Carte Orange is composed of two parts: the name/pix card and the weekly (or monthly) coupon. What he bought from the machine was simply a "refill/replacement" ticket for the week he was there, but had a controller checked him in the Metro, he would have needed the picture card, too. You keep the picture card and buy replacement "coupons" every week/month you need them. The picture card doesn't cost extra; it is just part of the whole deal. <BR> <BR>Use any small picture (2x2). I suppose a computer-generated pix would be OK; they also have tons of those cheap photo machines in Europe and those pix are OK.

Sue, <BR>Although your theory is possible, the ticket machine (which by the way you can switch into English mode like an ATM machine) from were I purchased my ticket simply called it a weekly pass, and made no mention of it as a replacement or refill. By coincidence, the ticket was checked at one of the metros were they were doing a check, they looked at it and did not ask for anything else.

The "carte orange" (monthly) and the "coupon hebdomadaire" (or coupon semaine) are not the same thing. For the carte orange you definitely need the picture.

I confirm what Mariarosa is saying. There are 2 options, the carte orange (intended for locals, but tourists can use it) and the tourist card (intended for tourists, but locals can use it). The carte orange is much cheaper, but consists of 2 parts. One is the orange card with photo, which you do at a ticket window for free. the other part is the weekly or monthly ticket you buy and insert into a pocket in the card wallet they give you. This ticket is nontransferable, and you need to have the orange card number on it. The other ticket (tourist weekly ticket) which costs at least twice has no photo.

That's right! Your "ID" card with the photo has a unique number that you must write in your coupon orange. That is how they know that you are not transferring the coupon orange to another person - the number written in the coupon matches the number in the ID with your picture. Maybe Bill had good luck when he was checked - if you are a tourist and you act confused enough they will not bother you.

Thanks for all the info. Are these rules the same for a weekly pass, Carte Jaune? <BR>Is there an even less expensive pass for Seniors, Students or children? We have a large group going. <BR> Thanks again

From the following website: http://www.ratp.fr/Voy_q/Voy_r/Voy_r...rifs_abogp.htm. <BR>It shows that the Carte Orange is available in either a weekly (Hebdomadaire - 85FF) or monthly (Mensuel - 285FF) version. I purchased the weekly version from the machine which is valid from Mon-Sun. I looked at the ticket last night, and it is a green ticket very similar to the standard ticket but a shade lighter, and I paid 80FF for it in June 1999. As for looking like a tourist and acting confused, I'll admit to the former but deny the latter. <BR>

Bill, the site you are quoting confirms what we are saying word for word, in French of course. But if you don't understand French (which I think may be the case, right?) you may have a look at the carte orange and its weekly/monthly ticket on the same site at this page: http://www.ratp.fr/Voy_q/Voy_r/Voy_r_tdt/abo_gp.htm <BR>Now you said your ticket was green. You have me there, as the ticket as I recall it, and also as shown on the website is orange. Is there anything written on your ticket ? If you scan and email it, or reproduce here, I will be able to translate. Now you've made me curious.

I've gone through all the website. It is also available in English, but of course there is no mention of the Carte Orange there, since it is intended for locals. <BR>Having checked all the tickets and prices, I am 100% sure that what you bought was just the weekly coupon on which you should write your Carte Orange number and carry both together. I think you were lucky ... if the inspector hadn't been in a good mood, you would have been fined, and the fines are pretty stiff in Paris !

Frank... <BR>At $15 per week per person, it's not really expensive. Though note that the weekly coupon is valid for a calender week, not for 7 days, so you may need to buy 2 coupons over a period of 7 days. <BR>You can take the photos in automatic machines at all metro stations, or use your own, but make sure you make the Carte Orange. I had my Carte Orange inspected at least 3 times over 5 days. <BR>You make the Carte Orange at the ticet office present in most metro stations, i.e. from a human, not from a machine.

Sue et al are absolutely correct in that you MUST have the orange ID card with a photo on it for it to be legit--this is for BOTH the monthly or weekly coupon, that isn't the issue, the Carte Orange is the ID card, not the pass, and must be used with either a monthly or weekly coupon. The photo machine just didn't go into details as anyone buying the card would be presumed to know that (and in fact, I believe you get a set of instructions on buying it that says that and more). Bill was very lucky and got a sloppy inspector, that's all, as you can get a stiff fine for not having the proper ID; it is to make sure you do not give the card to someone else (think about it,k without the ID card and transferred ID number to the card, five people could share one coupon by trading it, the metro system would go broke, although cheaters probably do that a lot anyway). As for the coupon color, I don't have mine here so forget but that URL above shows the ID card, which is orange. It does not seem to show a weekly coupon at all, which is what Bill got and is, as I recall, just like a metro ticket. The other coupon they show on that web site is the monthly coupon (smaller ticket, orange and white). AS I recall, the weekly coupon is yellow, or used to be (which is why it was also sometimes called a coupon jaune, which means yellow, rather than hebdomodaire), maybe it's just green now or a greenish-yellow.

I have to agree with you guys, and it appears that I got lucky with the inspector. Christina's analysis of the misuse of the ticket without the card makes sense. So to be totally legit you would need the photo card part. Quoting from the Paris Pages(http://www.paris.org/Expos/ParisTickets/Orange/) "The Métro ticket portion of the Carte Orange. The tickets are no longer yellow in color like these."

You must purchase your first Carte Orange "kit" from a clerk and affix your photo to the ID card. Subsequent weekly tickets can be purchased in the vending machines. If you are asked for your ticket in the metro, you'll be fined (cash on the spot) if you don't have the ID to go with your ticket. You absolutely MUST have the ID card to show to the bus driver. If you stick your ticket in the validating machine on the bus, it will invalidate it for good. There are inspectors on the buses once in a while as well.

As someone mentioned, the Carte Orange is technically only available to residents. Tourists usually have no problem purchasing them, although some folks have reported that a clerk has refused to allow them to purchase them. The Paris Visite and other "tourist" passes are much more profitable to the RATP. Just what we need, American tourists buying just the weekly coupon from a vending machine and skipping the ID card with photo. I suppose if this gets around as a good idea, they'll start cracking down and the rest of us will be refused a Carte Orange when in Paris. A photo 1 x 1-1/2" or slightly larger is the size you need. You can cut your head out of a snapshot or print one from your PC (glossy or heavy paper would be best). On the other hand, you really should bring some extra passport photos with you anyway. Should your passport become lost or get stolen, having extra photos will considerably expedite a replacement (along with a photocopy the first two pages of your passport).