Public transport tickets on your iPhone should actually have been available within the EU for years, but in Paris they have finally done it.
Paris introduces public transport tickets on your iPhone
This month it became possible for the first time to travel within the EU with public transport tickets on an iPhone. The project was first announced in 2021 by the Parisian public transport company Île-de-France Mobilités. It was supposed to start in 2022, but was postponed several times. Until now, it was only possible to top up physical tickets with your iPhone.
Buy public transport tickets with your iPhone
Public transport tickets for the Paris transport network (metro, RER (Réseau Express Régional), local trains, buses and trams) can be saved directly to your iPhone, or to your Apple Watch. The Wallet app is used for this. You can buy tickets in the Île-de-France Mobilités app or directly in the Wallet app.
The variants t+, t+ with discount, OrlyBus, RoissyBus and Navigo day tickets are currently available. Only the Paris Visite tourist card seems to be missing. After activation, ‘Tap to Ride’ is possible: you select your public transport tickets in the Wallet app on your iPhone and hold it against the reader. You can also activate Express mode so that this no longer has to be done manually – all you need to do is hold your iPhone or Apple Watch against the reader.
Even if your battery is almost empty
Even if the iPhone is almost empty, your public transport tickets are not ‘gone’, Apple explains. “Thanks to the iPhone’s energy reserve, customers whose devices need to be charged can still use public transport.”
Another new feature in iOS is that for the first time, the Apple Maps app will receive real-time information about public transport from Paris. This applies in any case to the RATP metro, RER, tram and buses. Cancellations and delays are also communicated.
In Paris (just like in London), using public transport tickets on an iPhone or Apple Watch on public transport has another advantage. Since the introduction of MagSafe, users have accidentally cleared their paper cards with the magnetic strips on their iPhone. This cannot happen anymore. In the Netherlands we have to make do without a digital public transport pass for the time being, although you can check in and out here with the payment card on your iPhone or Apple Watch.
Do you always want to stay informed of all the Apple news? Please sign up for our daily/weekly newsletter. Additionally, download the free iphoned app and keep an eye on our website.