The Navigo pass or Passe Navigo is a means of payment for public transportation introduced in the Île-de-France region (whose capital is the city of Paris) in 2001. It is implemented as a contactless smart card using the Calypso standard, and enables authenticated access at turnstiles by passing the card near an electronic reader.
The pass is available either attached to an account for residents of the Île-de-France (known simply as Passe Navigo), or can be issued on the spot to anybody at a station (Passe Navigo Découverte). While the account based passes are free, a Découverte pass costs €5 at ticket booths. The passes can be credited at ticket booths and machines for weekly, monthly or annual use — unlike comparable cards issued in other major cities, there is no facility to add a certain amount of credit to the card for use on irregular journeys over a period of time.
Navigo passes can be used on the vehicles of the RATP, the SNCF (within the Transilien network), Optile, and companies under the aegis of the Syndicat des transports d'Île-de-France (STIF), as well as with the new Vélib' bicycle rental system.
Cards either bear a photograph of the holder or must be accompanied by a photo ID card.
Read more about Navigo Pass: History
Famous quotes containing the word pass:
“I felt my cheek
Alter, to see the shadow pass away,
Whose grasp had left the giant world so weak
That every pigmy kicked it as it lay;”
—Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822)