Carte Orange Question???
Jul 14th, 2006, 10:01 AM
#1
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Carte Orange Question???
I've been scouring the www.ratp.fr site and see the prices for Carte Orange but cannot find the info about the one week period - i've read here before that the card can only be bought for a one week period beginning only on one day of the week - say Tuesday - and is not valid for one week from the time of purchase.
Can someone enlighten me on this question - when does the week period begin - when i buy it or on a set day of the week.
Thanks beaucoup.
Can someone enlighten me on this question - when does the week period begin - when i buy it or on a set day of the week.
Thanks beaucoup.
Jul 14th, 2006, 10:09 AM
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<i>Carte Orange</i> is always valid Monday through Sunday. You can buy one beginning on the Friday of the week prior to the week it's valid through Wednesday of that week. They are not sold on Thursday.
So if you bought one today (Friday the 14th), its week of validity would begin on Monday the 17th. The <i>last</i> day you could buy one for next week would be on Wednesday the 19th.
So if you bought one today (Friday the 14th), its week of validity would begin on Monday the 17th. The <i>last</i> day you could buy one for next week would be on Wednesday the 19th.
Jul 14th, 2006, 10:35 AM
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Here is what I've read. (Robespierre is wlecome to either affirm it or refute it.) The Carte Orange was designed for commuters, thus the Monday-Sunday validity for the weekly CO and the first day of the month-last day of the month for the monthly CO. One of my old Paris guidebooks says that the CO is NOT available to tourists so they should buy the Paris Visite instead (much more expensive). However, it's my understanding that tourists could always buy the CO if they were persistent in asking until they found someone at a ticket window willing to sell it to them. My newer guidebooks don't allude to that "problem" at all.
Jul 14th, 2006, 10:46 AM
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This topic comes up all the time...it is interesting to note that there is no mention of carte orange on the English language RATP web site...
I once had an issue with a clerk at a metro station not over the carte orange but the mobilis ticket...she kept insisting she could not sell me one that I had to buy the overpriced next to useless Paris visite ticket that the mobilis (and by extension carte orange) was paid for by French people and intended only for French people...I walked away, went to another booth in the same station and bought the ticket.
I sent an e mail to RATP with the question, can tourists buy Carte Orange. Their response, Carte Orange is intended for residents of ile de France (that is the area around Paris) as it is heavily subsidized by their taxes...that was their response. Interpret it any way you want.
In actual practice, 99% of the time they will sell you carte orange no matter what...one of the problems they face now is the fact that the eu does not allow discrimination against citizens of any other eu state so that if something is available to a French citizen, it must be made available to citizens of any other eu member state...so how to tell the difference between an American and a Dutch person who doesn't speak French (rare but it happens) and speaks English...
If you have any difficulty simply go to another booth. Also remember there are two parts to the Carte Orange...the card with the picture and a number and the corresponding weekly (or monthly) ticket that is actually inserted in the turnstile. Once you have the picture card, you can buy the weekly or monthly ticket in the machines and now have to bother with the clerks again...just make sure you put the number of the card on the ticket in case you are stopped by inspectors.
Also indeed a weekly carte orange is, as noted, good for the period from Monday to Sunday, not any 7 day period. It is sold only through Wednesday of a particular week. On Friday, you can buy a carte orange for the following week beginning Monday.
I once had an issue with a clerk at a metro station not over the carte orange but the mobilis ticket...she kept insisting she could not sell me one that I had to buy the overpriced next to useless Paris visite ticket that the mobilis (and by extension carte orange) was paid for by French people and intended only for French people...I walked away, went to another booth in the same station and bought the ticket.
I sent an e mail to RATP with the question, can tourists buy Carte Orange. Their response, Carte Orange is intended for residents of ile de France (that is the area around Paris) as it is heavily subsidized by their taxes...that was their response. Interpret it any way you want.
In actual practice, 99% of the time they will sell you carte orange no matter what...one of the problems they face now is the fact that the eu does not allow discrimination against citizens of any other eu state so that if something is available to a French citizen, it must be made available to citizens of any other eu member state...so how to tell the difference between an American and a Dutch person who doesn't speak French (rare but it happens) and speaks English...
If you have any difficulty simply go to another booth. Also remember there are two parts to the Carte Orange...the card with the picture and a number and the corresponding weekly (or monthly) ticket that is actually inserted in the turnstile. Once you have the picture card, you can buy the weekly or monthly ticket in the machines and now have to bother with the clerks again...just make sure you put the number of the card on the ticket in case you are stopped by inspectors.
Also indeed a weekly carte orange is, as noted, good for the period from Monday to Sunday, not any 7 day period. It is sold only through Wednesday of a particular week. On Friday, you can buy a carte orange for the following week beginning Monday.
Jul 14th, 2006, 10:46 AM
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One more thing: The English version of the RATP site doesn't show the Carte Orange, Mobilis, or Ticket Jeunes passes. It only shows the Paris Visite (and carnets). That would tend to support what I've read about the RATP wanting tourists to buy the Paris Visite.
Jul 14th, 2006, 11:01 AM
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...and I think I read one time that clerks in the metro are encouraged to point unsuspecting tourists (which I assume that clerk mistook me for) to Paris visite if they ask for mobilis or carte orange.
But the question remains, RATP wants tourists to buy Paris Visite and not carte orange or mobilis....but they have obviously stopped short of prohibiting them from buying these tickets outright which is something I wonder why.
But the question remains, RATP wants tourists to buy Paris Visite and not carte orange or mobilis....but they have obviously stopped short of prohibiting them from buying these tickets outright which is something I wonder why.
Jul 14th, 2006, 11:49 AM
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Isn't it odd that the Paris Tourist Office website <i>does</i> list <i>all</i> the ticket and pass types?
http://en.parisinfo.com/paris_map/ru...d_article=6771
http://en.parisinfo.com/paris_map/ru...d_article=6771
