Apple draws the shock ticket for users of its iPhones and Apple Watch. A few weeks before the opening of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the apple brand is embracing the Navigo Pass. Already offered since October 2022 to owners of Android terminals (under Android 8.0 and higher), the possibility extends from this Tuesday, May 21 to owners of Apple products (from iOS 17.4). Parisian transport users with an Apple smartphone, or an Apple Watch, can therefore do without their physical transport ticket and cross the gates using their mobile terminal or connected watch. To take advantage of it, remember to update the application Ile-de-France Mobilities
Almost two years of waiting
Between the first announcements from Île-de-France Mobilités in October 2022 and the launch of the dematerialized transport ticket on Apple products, almost two years will have passed. But this time, it’s done. Valérie Pécresse, the President of the Île-de-France Region, confirmed this on May 21 at 3 p.m., at the Mairie de Saint-Ouen metro station (in the middle of a transport strike deemed “indefensible” by the President on the social network
To cross the RER or Paris metro gates or take the bus or tram, users of an iPhone or Apple Watch will now only have to present their dematerialized transport ticket at the terminals provided for this purpose. effect.
Navigo Pass and simple ticket can join the Apple Cards application, the same one where dematerialized payment, transport or loyalty cards are securely displayed.
To do this, users can buy discounted t+, t+, OrlyBus, RoissyBus tickets and Navigo Jour packages from the Apple Maps app (and the Île-de-France Mobilités app) by selecting the desired Navigo card. The annual pass is unfortunately not covered. One and only authorized payment method: Apple Pay.
We imagine that the negotiations between Apple, which takes its tithe for each activation, and Île-de-France Mobilités must have been long…
Express and battery-free mode
Good point: dematerialized titles can even be used in Express Mode (with iPhone XR and later and Apple Watch Series 6 and later). In this case, there is no need to unlock the device (by pressing its side button twice) to find your transport ticket and go through a terminal or turnstile. Simply place it near the validator to pass.
Furthermore, the titles can even be used when the battery of their user’s iPhone or Apple Watch is exhausted. The “Reserve” mode of their equipment guarantees them up to 5 hours of possible use. Enough to get home, even late, if you forgot to charge your smartphone or watch.
Apple is finally taking advantage of this new immersion in Parisian public transport to vitalize its Maps application. This will now offer valuable real-time information on traffic conditions (in particular indicating interruptions and delays), but also detailed departure/arrival times. A contribution that users would have really needed on this dark Tuesday, May 21 in the metro and the RER.