Cartes Oranges--metro passes?

I usually buy cartes oranges for the students I accompany to Paris. However, last summer some of the emplyoees at the metro sites did not want to sell them for me. I finally found one who would. Are these week metro passes no longer sold to people who do not live in Paris? Thanks, JA

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They still are. But at some métro stations, they may rather want to sell the more expensive Paris Visite passes. Just insist and use preferably a small stop.

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If you look at the www.ratp.fr website +

Titres de transport + %26quot;Achetez vos titres de transport près de chez vous%26quot; - you will get a drop-down list of arrondissments to choose from. Latest thing is, that some kiosques and tobacco-shops sell metro-tickets and cards.

Maybe they are more fortcoming than what you have experienced.

I have had no trouble buying the Carte Orange on Gare du Nord and on Gare de l%26#39;Est

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The CARTE ORANGE was always %26quot;..intended..%26quot; for Paris residents....but the %26#39;loophole%26#39; within the %26#39;intention%26#39; was that there has never really been any practicable way of determining who is a Paris resident and who is not. There are some RATP ticket clerks who simply don%26#39;t want to be bothered and may refuse to sell these passes to those who are quite obviously %26#39;foreign tourists%26#39;. This happens occasionally. More often than not, RATP ticket agents simply don%26#39;t want to be bothered explaining (or are too busy)----the way the CARTE ORANGE works to tourists. I%26#39;ve heard it rumored that there are a few %26#39;cranky%26#39; RATP ticket clerks. It%26#39;s happenned. In your case, I suspect the latter. The agent simply didn%26#39;t want to go through the hassle of preparing CARTE ORANGE passes for a group of tourists. But obviously, you got them at a different Metro ticket kiosk from a different agent....so the CARTE ORANGE is available to tourists.

Unfortunately, the %26#39;tourist loophole%26#39; in the CARTE ORANGE system will be closing in the foreseeable future, as the RATP system completes the adoption and system-wide installation of the relatively new NAVIGO RFID-embedded %26#39;smart chip%26#39; card system. These new re-loadable %26#39;smart cards%26#39; are only be available by mail to French addresses and will eventually replace the existing CARTE ORANGE pass system-wide within a year or two.

For the time being the old CARTE ORANGE system is still in operation and the %26#39;tourist loophole%26#39; still exists.

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KDKSAIL:

(I know that this issue has been discussed before) - what interest would the French railway authorities have in charging tourists with extra high prices for métro-tickets (other than the obvious higher income) ?

Offering cheap transport for tourists is supposed to be one of the %26quot;selling points%26quot; for a city, IMHO.

It sounds as if France/ratp/Paris/Government/Ministry of transports (or whoever) is almost morbidly intent on closing the %26quot;tourist loophole%26quot; as you call it - as if tourists were a plague that Paris would be glad to get rid of - the sooner the better ?

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%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;(I know that this issue has been discussed before) - what interest would the French railway authorities have in charging tourists with extra high prices for métro-tickets (other than the obvious higher income) ? %26lt;%26lt;%26lt;

You%26#39;re forgetting that the loyalties and allegiances of any government agency should be first and foremost to the citizens of that place. Parisian pay a hefty premium in direct and indirect taxes to their goivernments. Subsidizing tourist transportation with their taxes is seldom very high on any local resident%26#39;s list of priorities.

We use the public transportaion system for a few days....local residents use it EVERY day. To tourists, it%26#39;s part of their disposable %26#39;..vacation budget..%26#39;; to local residents it is a part of their remarkably high daily %26#39;..cost of living..%26#39;. Why not lower tolls on the Indiana Turnpike for out-of-state registered automobiles...or lower hunting and fishing license fees for out-of-state outdoorsmen?