For young Parisians and Ile-de-France residents, a school trip often means a metro ride. And it is not uncommon to come across a teacher at the station entrance handing out metro tickets to each student in her class. But what to do, in this era of dematerialization and when Île-de-France Mobilités (IDFM) has decided to put an end to the sale of cardboard tickets? It is in response to this problem that the organizing authority for public transport in the Ile-de-France region, chaired by Valérie Pécresse, decided to offer Navigo Easy “starter packs”, distributed free of charge to the 4,162 elementary schools in Île-de-France.
In fact, there is no question for the president of the region “that the end of the sale of the T ticket book will be a brake on the use of public transport by school groups”. With the ambition of “facilitating the transition to digital ticketing”, the distribution of these passes will be available on request, via a dedicated email address, “exclusively used for the purposes of school outings for students in the elementary cycle of establishments” . It will include 60 passes each loaded with 10 reduced-rate t tickets (the equivalent of 507 euros), “to allow two classes to travel simultaneously”, specifies IDFM. In 2017, Valérie Pécresse had already passed a provision allowing school groups and accompanying persons to benefit from the reduced rate (50%) on public transport tickets.
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Furthermore, IDFM reminds that the Imagine R junior package only costs two euros per month for children under 11 years old residing in Île-de-France. Offered at a price of 24 euros (€8 administration fee included), “this package allows young people from the Ile-de-France region to use all public transport in the Ile-de-France region during the school year, from September to September,” specifies the authority. . Before pointing out the obvious: “if students already have a private subscription, they will be able to use their pass during various school outings”.
As a reminder, the modernization of ticketing was launched more than a year ago. Since September 21, 2023, the cardboard t ticket book has gradually begun to no longer be sold. A decision taken above all to fight against pollution, while 550 million cardboard tickets were sold each year. Those that take up to two years to decompose. In addition, IDFM also intends to “adapt to the lifestyles of Ile-de-France residents with new solutions that save time: accessible everywhere, all the time, immediately” and thus hopes to put an end to long queues in front of the machines , still too often visible in the major stations and stations in the Ile-de-France region.
