How to Use the Paris Bus System
of the RATP (Parisian transport authority)

• The first card of the Paris Bus Cards tells you where to buy tickets. If you want special passes for longer periods of time, it is best to inquire about them in a “Tabac”, in a Métro station, or at the Tourist Office/l’Office du Tourisme, which has moved to 25, rue des Pyramides (Bus #95). You need a small photo for longer-term passes. The longer types of passes may change over time. The Carte Orange, for example. has been phased out in the form it used to have.  However, various lengths of it can be loaded electronically onto a Passe Navigo Découverte.  Many French people and tourists find buying “un carnet” (a booklet of 10 tickets) for use on buses or Métros to be very practical and cost-effective. Or look into the Paris Visite card. You may also want to inquire about the passe Navigo Découverte. See Blog for more details. If you do not buy a longer-term pass, it is convenient to have tickets on hand, although drivers will accept exact change for single tickets.
  
  The rules have changed.   If you transfer to a bus with a different number within a 1 1/2 hour time period, you can use the same ticket you used on the previous bus.  As great as these newer rules are, the RATP does not allow any transfers with the same ticket between bus and Métro or vice verso. If you have bought your ticket directly from the bus driver, you cannot use it to transfer either.  Buy the tickets in a tabac or in a metro station.  By the way, the current price (as of 1/09) for a ticket directly from the driver (with exact change only) is 1.8 euros.

• It is important to remember to validate your ticket by inserting it into the slot of the machine as you get in the bus. Hold onto your ticket. You may need it later to show an inspector.  If you are trying to get in the back door and it does not open, push the button next to the door.  The articulated buses, those that look like an accordian in the middle, allow you to get on by the back door.
  
  
• When figuring out where to get off, it is useful to note ahead of time the stop before the one where you plan to get off so you can be ready near the back door.
  
  
• You need to push a red button on one of the poles to tell the driver to stop if someone else has not already done it.  Above the button it says POUR OUVRIR APPUYER. When the button has already been pushed by a person for the next stop, a red “ARRET DEMANDE” sign (stop requested) will be lit up at the inside front of the bus.
  
  
• Sometimes the stop is announced. At other times, it is lit up on an electronic board inside the bus although sometimes neither happens. Pay attention to each stop that the bus makes and be prepared to let the driver know ahead of time that you wish to get off.

• Don’t hesitate to ask someone for help, even if you don't speak French. Simply say the name of the stop with the intonation of a question.
  
  
• SPECIAL NOTICE: Since Paris Bus Cards were printed, the name of the Croix Rouge stop has been changed to Michel Debré. This stop appears on routes 95 and 96 and is a good spot to get off for visiting St-Sulpice.
  
  
• Sundays and holidays Some buses do not run on Sundays and holidays. For our routes, the following buses do not run on Sundays and Holidays: 47, 69, 73, 81, 83, 84, 89.  It is best to check up-to-date details on www.ratp.com
  
  
• Balabus On the cards, there are stops marked Balabus. The Balabus is a wonderful public bus for sightseeing that runs April to September, 12:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. It goes by many great sights on the Right Bank of the Seine as it travels East (Gare de Lyon direction) and others largely on the Left Bank as it travels West (La Défense direction). 
  
  
• Late nighttime buses are the Noctilien lines. If you will be out very late, check out bus stops near where you are staying to find out which are Noctilien lines. Or get more information from ratp.com.

 

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