From September 1, 2015, the Navigo pass for travel in the French capital and its surroundings (Ile-de-France) will no longer be priced according to zones (five in total). Instead, its weekly, monthly, and annual subscriptions – €21.25, €70, and €770 respectively – will give riders of the bus, metro, tram, Vélib shared bikes, and suburban trains all-inclusive access to the network.
Introduced in 2001, the Navigo is implemented as a contactless smartcard using the Calypso standard (see below), and enables authenticated access at turnstiles by swiping the card near an electronic reader. The question of fully ‘dezoning’ the pass has been under discussion for several years (already one fare/all zones is offered at weekends, Bank Holidays, and for one month during the summer). Yet until the final decision to go ahead was taken, in December 2014, the move had been postponed largely due to the €400 million it would cost the Stif, the authority responsible for public transport in Ile-de-France.
The financial issue has now been resolved. The funding will be in part be supplemented by €190 million provided by Région Ile-de-France, in part by revenue generated by an increase in the versement transport (VT) tax. The latter, used to finance public transport, is a local contribution made by companies, private and public bodies with over nine employees. It constitutes the main source of revenue for the Stif, representing 65% of its budget (€3,424 million in 2013), and just under 40% of the total transport funding for Ile-de-France. An increase in the cap rate of the VT from July 1, 2015 is expected to generate around €210 million over the fiscal year.
The first Navigo card, based on the Calypso standard, was introduced in 2005. A contactless electronic ticketing standard, Calypso is a set of technical specifications describing a fast and secure contactless transaction between a terminal and portable device. Originally designed by a group of European transit operators in the 1990s, the specs have since been deployed in many cities and countries worldwide.
Who wins?
Speaking in November 2014, prime minister Manuel Valls voiced his support for the zone-free Navigo, qualifying the decision as “a measure of social justice that will enable all Franciliens to benefit from the new infrastructure that the State and Region are financing as part of the Grand Paris project. The single fare Navigo is also an ecological measure for improving air quality in Ile-de-France,” he added. “It is economic too, since it will contribute towards developing businesses and boosting the appeal of the territory and the mobility of young people.”
Opinions are divided. The idea that all pass holders can travel anywhere in Ile-de-France is enticing. Furthermore ‘removing’ the zone barrier, hopes the authorities, will encourage more Parisians to work and live outside the city. Yet some say the action is a purely political (regional elections in December 2015); some Parisian pass holders are disgruntled at having to pay the same price for shorter trips within the city as pass holders travelling greater distances, i.e. between zone five and the city; others point to practical implications, i.e. the impact on existing transport infrastructure and services.
Yes, but…
Concerns over a surge in passenger volumes are legitimate, particularly on the Transilien, given the heavy pressure on this already overburdened network – its services clock up over three million passengers daily, two million trains and over one billion journeys annually. For instance, how will the ‘open’ Navigo impact the number of Franciliens travelling into Paris? Will the existing metro, bus, and tramway services be able to cope with an influx of more passengers as they continue their journeys into and across the city. Will service punctuality be affected?
Alain Krakovitch, managing director, SNCF Transilien, points out that it is difficult, nigh impossible to simulate the consequences on traffic. “No model to accurately predict the outcomes exists,” he says. “We will be closely monitoring the situation over the first two years in order to adapt our services accordingly, if necessary. However I’m not panicking,” he adds. “Logically we should see more people travelling within the outer suburbs where the services are less saturated, so there shouldn’t be any problems. Plus any change in passenger volumes will be extremely progressive. People aren’t going to sell their cars tomorrow!”
One of the perks for Navigo users, agrees Mr Krakovitch, will be a widening of their travel horizons in Ile-de-France, “particularly for those living in the outer suburbs, for whom up until now the cost of the zoned pass has limited their movements.” Furthermore, according to calculations by Transilien, this particular segment of subscriber is set to save €50 a month. “From September 2015, travelling on our services will work out 5.5 times cheaper than by car (purchase, wear, maintenance, running), or 11 times cheaper for employees whose travel expenses are 50% covered by their firm.”
Zero tolerance
Together with the Stif, Transilien is determined to take advantage of this new fare order to clamp down on fraud in the transport system. Henceforth ‘zero tolerance’ will be the name of the game!
“The two main types of fare dodging are travelling beyond the zones permitted by one’s ticket, and without a ticket,” explains Mr Krakovitch. “With the single fare structure, the zone jumping will be eliminated. Consequently we will be taking a tougher stance on anyone caught without a ticket.”
Opening up new relationships
Another ticketing evolution coming to Ile-de-France is the implementation of Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, which will debut in the first semester of 2016. In a first step, Transilien will be harnessing this method of wireless data transfer to offer new mobile services to its passengers for purchasing and storing single trip tickets and day passes.
Over time, the benefits of the roll-out are expected to reach wide, opening up new travel relationships between core public transport modes and others such as the TGV (high-speed rail), TER services (regional express train), coaches, car sharing, and parking. Indeed they can be summed up as follows:
- significant improvement in passenger flows – from purchasing to using tickets – plus creating links between sales and passenger information
- a robust system for countering ticket fraud, based on reliable data storage in the secure element of the cell phone SIM card
- the phone acts as validator, thus removing the need to invest in and install any special infrastructure
- a service offer designed to fully respect the private life of its users, since geolocation information is not stored in the phone
However given the weighty population of Ile-de-France – around 12 million inhabitants, i.e. 18.2% of the total in France* – the NFC services planned for the whole of the country will be heavily solicited in this particular region. Consequently operators RATP and SNCF, plus the Stif, are all playing an active role in bringing the plan into action. “Introducing NFC requires significant investment,” comments Mr Krakovitch. “Plus the implication of transport and mobile phone operators will be primordial.”
*January 1, 2014 figures