Paris public transport tickets

[zzplea]

Has anyone been in Paris recently and got the hang of public transport tickets?

I know all tickets are now digital but have I interpreted this correctly:

Options:
Easy Navigo card
Smartphone app: iPhone or Android. Does this work for both metro and bus tickets? The Man in Seat 61 website says it doesn't work for bus tickets, but the RATP site says it does.

Ticket prices:
There are now separate tickets and prices for metro (2.50) and bus (2.00).

Is the digital t+ ticket covering all modes of transport no longer available for purchase?

Loading tickets onto card/device:
You need to choose which type of ticket to buy (metro or bus) rather than load an amount that the tickets are deducted from as you use them (pay as you go)?

If that's the case, is it easier to use phone app and spontaneously decide what ticket you need, rather than Easy Navigo smartcard where you have to think ahead?

Thanks!

I have just come back from Paris. We only used the Metro and not the bus.

We used the digital tickets on iPhone by going into Apple Wallet, selecting Navigo and then adding Metro tickets when we wanted to use it, and just tap the phone on the barrier.

Seems as though you can buy 1 or 10 tickets at a time, but there is no discount for buying 10.

No idea if this was the most optimal way, but it was quicker to do this rather than queueing to buy a physical Navigo card at Gare Du Nord when we arrived, and it worked well.

Just back from paris. Bought the easy navigo for 2 euros at cdg airport and used it to travel on RER into Paris then all weekend on the metro and back to cdg on the RER. Didn't use a bus. I reloaded it in the ticket office at the metro stations, didn't use the app or even self service booth, I'm a bit of a ludite

It's a bit of a nightmare for the beginner because there are multiple apps, government organisations, and brands involved.

RATP runs the buses and métro. SNCF (the national rail company) runs the TER suburban trains. And an overarching organisation called Île de France Mobilités tries to tie all of the Parisian and surrounding area ("Île-de-France" is "greater Paris") services together in the same kind of way that TfL does for London.

Navigo is a brand a bit like Oyster. Most people who live in the Paris area have a Navigo account and card. Navigo is not designed for tourists, but the branding leaks out a bit around the edges of the other products, as you will see.

Last time I was in Paris (September 2024) I used the IDF Mobilités (IDFM) app. I did not install the RATP app or the SNCF app. With IDFM you can buy tickets and store them on your Navigo card (if you have one) or on your phone. There are lots of clever possibilities that you don't need. But basically you buy tickets online and consume them by tapping your phone at the métro/RER barrier or when you get on the bus, and that's all you need.

In fact that's not quite all because all three apps (IDFM, RATP, SNCF) use a common sub-app called "Mes Tickets Navigo" (or "My Navigo Tickets") to make the actual purchase. Despite the name, you do not need a Navigo card to use this sub-app. The IDFM app will prompt you to install it at an early stage.

I strongly advise you to install at least the IDFM app and the ticket sub-app before you set off. Create accounts with them, set up payment cards, do a few dry runs, etc. Maybe even buy one or two tickets, although check with your card provider if there is a fixed transaction fee (as opposed to just a proportion of the amount) to use your card in the Eurozone — if there is, try to make fewer, larger purchases.

Thanks everyone.

I'm primarily asking for a friend who has an iPhone, so that sounds quite easy, although useful point about checking card transaction charges before merrily buying one ticket at a time.

However my phone doesn't have NCR so doesn't do contactless payments and I would need to use a Navigo Easy smartcard. It's a bit of a pain that bus and metro tickets are now separate and you need to plan in advance how many of each ticket to buy.