Île-de-France Mobilités and Apple have kept their word. The Navigo Pass is finally available on iPhone through the Maps app and the Apple Watch even allows you to validate your journey. But there are some subtleties.
Last month, Île-de-France Mobilités announced that work to integrate the Navigo package into iPhones was nearing completion and planned to make it available just before summer. Bet paid since Tuesday, May 21, iPhone owners can finally benefit from the same advantages as Android users to travel with the public transport networks of Île de France. A function which should satisfy the millions of tourists ready to arrive in the capital for the Olympic Games which will start on July 26.
The Navigo package on iPhone is not yet completely complete but should already make procedures easier for many travelers. Almost everything is done from the Apple Maps application. The only constraint: the iPhone must run with the latest version of iOS, 17.5, compatible with iPhones since the XR model released in 2018. Simply press the + button at the top right of the screen , choose Transport card then Navigo. From there, it is possible to obtain a Navigo Day Pass for all zones or only zones 1 to 3, t+ tickets individually, in threes, in fives or in a book of ten at the normal or reduced rate as well as Tickets OrlyBus or RoissyBus.
You will have noted that weekly, monthly or annual Navigo packages, such as the Imagine R or Liberté+ packages, are not among the options offered. For the first two, you will have to go through the Île-de-France Mobilités app.
Download Île-de-France Mobilités for iPhone
For the others, they are currently not supported (this is also the case on Android). The Liberté+ package should arrive, at best, in January 2025 on iOS and Android. Special Olympic tickets or subscriptions will be available later in June. We also note in passing that it is not possible to import an existing physical Navigo card into the iPhone. The possibility of recharging the card from the iPhone remains active. Good news finally, if the iPhone is lost or stolen, the transport tickets purchased are saved on iCloud and therefore recoverable.
Validate your journey with the iPhone and its NFC chip
When the Navigo package or the tickets are loaded on the iPhone, all that remains is to choose the right card in Apple Pay as you would choose your bank card to pay and then present the device at the terminal to pass through the gate. The iPhone’s NFC (Near Field Contact or contactless) chip takes care of the rest. Even more practical, choose Express mode after purchase. It will therefore not be necessary to open the Cards app to badge. Furthermore, Apple having done things well, validation remains possible even if the iPhone is discharged using the small energy reserve it keeps aside.
Apple Watch or iPhone, you will have to choose
There was uncertainty last month when Île-de-France Mobilités announced the upcoming arrival of the Navigo Pass on the iPhone: the Apple Watch, Apple’s connected watch, was not mentioned. Good surprise, it is also taken into account. But beware. Apple Watch owners will have to make a choice when purchasing tickets or a Navigo package from their iPhone.
The transport ticket can either be placed on the smartphone or on the watch but not on both at the same time. It is impossible to validate a trip with your Apple Watch if the title is saved on the iPhone. Damage. The observation is the same with Samsung smartphones and the brand’s Galaxy Watches. Once installed on the Apple Watch, it is possible to directly validate the journey with the watch at the gantry.
Apple Maps allows you to track traffic in real time
Another new feature that came after an update of the Maps app: the possibility of tracking traffic in real time on metros, buses, RERs, trams and other public transport in the Paris region. We can thus be informed of delays but also know the departure and arrival times or even evaluate the connections on a given journey.
So things are moving towards Île-de-France Mobilités to get up to date. There is still a lot of work to be done to finally get rid of the famous cardboard tickets that we hear so much about. Currently, there is still no dematerialized ticket for occasional travel (without a subscription) between the suburbs and Paris. The cardboard ticket, whose manufacturing quality leaves more and more to be desired since it demagnetizes very quickly, unfortunately still has a bright future ahead of it.