Paris: Price of monthly Navigo travel pass to increase again this summer

From August 1st, the price of the Navigo pass, which is used on Metro, trains and buses in the greater Paris region, is going to go up from €73 to €75.20 each month. 

 

This is the price that Valérie Pécresse, president of the greater Paris region of Ile-de-France and transport network Stif, is going to announce to the network's administrative body on June 28th, Le Parisien reported. 

 

And Stif believes there is no danger of the price hike of 3 percent being rejected by the administrative council. 

 

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The price of the Navigo pass changes nearly every year. In 15 years, the price has gone up by €29.15, with an average yearly price hike of €2. 

 

Further changes to Paris travel fares will be announced at the beginning of August, for example the increase in the price of the "carnet" -- a book of ten single fare tickets very popular with visitors to the French capital. 

 

But for the people living in Paris and its suburbs, it's the rise in the price of the Navigo that will be hardest to digest, and unsurprisingly the news has prompted the city's disgruntled inhabitants to take to social media.

 

One user suggested the price hikes made her want to follow in many a Parisian's footsteps before her and hop the Metro barrier (see below). 

 

 

And despite Paris transport prices still seeming cheap compared to many other cities in Europe, there is some justification for the backlash.

 

In 2015 Valérie Pécresse promised not to touch the monthly price of the Navigo pass. "I will keep the the Navigo pass at €70 because I will not play with the spending power of the people living in the Ile-de-France," she said.  

 

But in 2016, this attitude was already a thing of the past, as she threatened to hike the price of the Navigo pass by €15 to make up for the "€300 million shortfall in funding", something she blamed on the Socialists for bringing in the unique €70 Navigo pass that covered all of zones one to five despite the fact it was deemed unaffordable for the authorities.

 

Previously the price for monthly Navigo Paris depended on how many zones the commuter wanted to be covered. 

 

When the €70 price was fixed in 2015 it was heralded as a victory for commuters, especially those living out in the poorer suburbs, for whom the price of a monthly pass was reduced fairly dramatically.