fuzzbucket

From Le Parisien - Saturday's edition:
Don't be surprised when you board the RER, bus or Metro and don't have your validated ticket ready.

Due to the rising cost of fraud on RER, Bus and Metro systems, the City of Paris has decided to disguise a lot of agents in plainclothes. They are fighting fire with fire, since so many fraudsters are getting away with not paying for tickets.

I was on the Bus yesterday, and was checked - as was everyone else.
All the agents had appropriate insignia and hand-held machines to check your ticket, Navigo or other pass. If you didn't have a validated ticket, you were issued a slip of paper right out of the machine, and given the choice to pay by credit/debit card or send in your cheque.

If you toss your ticket or pass, or do not validate a ticket, or get on the bus via the back door, or jump the Metro turnstyles, be prepared for a hefty fine.

Sarastro

I have not seen the plain clothed controllers but I have seen a good number those in uniform. If you don't have a valid ticket and have passed the turnstiles, expect the fine amount to be at least 35€ if you are caught. If you do not have cash, tourists will be required to pay by credit card.

AJPeabody

From what I have seen, a T+ ticket validated on a bus is good for 90 minutes of transfers. Does the ticket need to be revalidated on the next bus? If you get on during the 90 minutes, what happens if you are on the bus after the 90 minutes window?

Envierges

Yes. the ticket must be revalidated on the next bus. The 90 minutes allowed is between the validations.

Envierges

The article I read in Le Parisien was about the SNCF not the RATP, but like many who pay, I welcome more policing on all public transport.

marvelousmouse

That happened to my roommate and I. I was surprised; I'd not had ticket check done anywhere else. My roommate did not understand the zone rule; no turnstiles to pass. I got lucky because I'd asked. Expensive lesson to learn.

fuzzbucket

AJPeabody - you cannot "backtrack" on bus routes. You can only go forward in the 90 minute period.
If you go "backwards" or change lines going another way, you will have to use another ticket.

fuzzbucket

sarastro - the fines are 50 EU now for an unvalidated ticket.
The fines have been going up for the last year.

cafegoddess

I am glad they are being more vigilant, I see too many people sneaking in to ride the metro.

kerouac

My neighborhood is a "problem" neighborhood because it is the area that the migrants have selected to spend their time. It did not take them long to figure out that it is very easy to jump on the 3b tram line or any of the buses without a ticket, but they are much more wary of the metro and avoid it when possible. However, they are not really a problem in terms of transportation and they have far more terrible problems to deal with in other domains. I hope they are given some slack when they are caught.

But long before they arrived, many of our ticket checkers worked in plainclothes already, just like our scruffy undercover police. Sometimes they pull on official armbands at the moment they board, sometimes not even that. They are firm and they mean business. On both the tram and the bus, they often disembark with unticketed protesting passengers to deal with the situation without delaying the rest of us.

I am constantly amazed by the number of people on various forum who think they were scammed by ticket checkers, either not in uniform or in a uniform that didn't seem to be the correct one. Frankly, I have never seen a single report about any scammer getting his/her hands on a ticket scanning machine, so you can believe that if they are holding such a device (which is only for the Navigo cards) but look at a paper ticket (or no ticket at all) and become stern because you do not have the proper documentation, it is not a scam.

In any case, you will always receive an official receipt when you pay, and if you think you have grounds to make a protest, this will be the document to back up your claim.

PalenQ

always keep your metro ticket till out of the system - for checks and at some exits need it to get out without hurdling the gates.

I guess the old demi-tariff charade won't work now?

fuzzbucket

Yes, some tourists are scammed by "agents" who pretend to be real agents. They do not have the machines, though.

And I would never allow anyone to buy me a ticket using my credit/debit card and then giving them the cash afterwards.

Nikki

The one time I ran into ticket checkers upon leaving the Paris metro, my husband had just finished asking me if it was OK to throw out his ticket. This was extremely uncharacteristic behavior; normally he would do it and might think of asking about it afterwards. I felt we had dodged a bullet.

kerouac

I got checked again yesterday, in a corridor of Gare de l'Est. I already pulled out my Navigo before rounding the corner, because I heard a woman say quite sternly "Stop making up excuses!" It made me wonder if this is what some posters call "yelling" when they have a bad control experience.

AJPeabody

Fuzz: If I am on a bus going, say, north, does that mean I cannot transfer to a bus going east? Or just not onto a bus going south? And what about routes that change directions and even those that take a more circular loop-like path for some or all of their routes?

fuzzbucket

AJ - You can only go forward. After that, you have to use a new ticket.
If you go on a circular loop path, you have to get off at the terminus. Then use a new ticket.
Here's the full info in plain English. Look for "Preparing your Trip":
http://www.ratp.fr/en/visite-paris/e...s-designed-you

But if you are in Paris long enough to get a Navigo Decouverte card, you can go anywhere you want to.

Christina

It isn't a secret anyway, you'd find out if your ticket was valid or not when you got on the bus and used it. If it were not valid, it would say so.

I don't really know why anyone would throw away their ticket before even leaving a metro station. YOu haven't exited yet, and some systems would require you to use it to exit. Just seems an odd thing to do, but if you are going to a foreign country, it seems you should learn the rules of the transportation system. That would just be a pointless thing to do in any country and wouldn't really gain you anything.

quokka

I have encountered plainclothes ticket controllers in various cities, and the average fine in my country is € 60. Just sayin'.

Nikki

"That would just be a pointless thing to do in any country and wouldn't really gain you anything."

My husband grew up in New York, where you didn't need anything to exit. I'm surprised he even asked about it.

Sarastro

When riding the bus, a ticket t+ is valid for 90 minutes. All travel must be completed within 90 minutes.

When riding in the métro/RER all travel must be completed within 120 minutes of first passing the turnstiles.

Inspectors check both that you started with a valid ticket and that you are not using it beyond its duration limit.