ParisByTrain.com

[Josh]

Hi Ben - Thanks so much for this site & forum! It is incredibly useful. My wife and I, and our 5 kg. Havanese dog, are spending September in Paris (and so will get a Navigo/Carte Orange mensuel). I have read a lot about the official rules for small dogs (sac no larger than 45cm, etc.). But can you tell me the reality? Do you see dogs in people's arms on the bus or metro? Any experiences? Thanks for any help. - Josh Fisher

[ben]

In practice, people bring all sorts of dogs (or other "regulated things"), of all sorts of sizes, onto the Metro and Buses and RER trains.

I have very rarely seen people with their dog in a basket or carrier for the bus, or travelers holding the animal in their arms (unless they happened to do that all the time anyways).

On occasion a driver may take exception with the size of an animal or a baby stroller; If s/he does, they'll tell you. I happened to see this today actually. A Metro train driver, driving with their door open, told a lady pushing a stroller that she's not allowed to bring that on the train (I assume because it was rush hour). The mother, surprised, asked, "Why?", they discussed a bit, and then she boarded anyways. It wasn't like the Metro driver could stop driving the train to prevent this lady from riding.

On buses, that could be a bit different. But, again, I've seen dogs on buses that are most definitely larger than the "maximum" dimensions they specify on the RATP site. And if you already have tickets purchased for the bus or are using a pass, you can simply enter by the rear door, validate your fare (with the readers/composters there) and avoid any sort of contact with the driver.

As a rule of thumb, the object that one brings on board any type of public transportation shouldn't prevent other riders from also using the service. If your dog was taking the physical space that prevented another human rider from taking the method of transport (due to the volume of people at that point in time), then the dog shouldn't be there. Otherwise, there shouldn't be any issue. Please keep in mind that that's my interpretation of the intent of the rules. The regulations are up to the interpretation of any given "controller".

I hope this answers your question.

Ben

[Josh]

Thanks. Exactly what I wanted to know. Sounds much like Boston--I wish more cities did this. (And I upped you on Stumble & Reddit).

[ben]

Thanks for the "up's"!

By the way, how's the "Big Dig" working out in Boston? Did it help traffic?

[Josh]

Actually, I live in Miami Beach. We lived in Boston for 12 years, all during the time they were building the big dig, but we left as it was getting finished . But we and our dog just spent a month there--just as we're doing in Paris. Since we didn't have a car, except for ZipCars (velibs, only cars), I didn't get a reliable sense of the traffic. But the problem of its taking 2 1/2 hours to get to the airport from downtown, 1 mile away, is now completely solved I think. Probably the traffic situation is a lot better now than it used to be; it seemed so.

[Josh]

Just wanted to post a follow-up. We took a million buses and trains with our dog, totally un-saced. Non saqué. And no problem, ever, except once. One time the #29 pulled up to Place des Vosges, and there was a supervisor as well as the driver. The supervisor waggled his finger (so we took the next bus). I guess with two of them, one can't let the other see him breaking the rules. Otherwise, nobody cared. Well, once an elderly woman on the #96 started complaining to the person she was talking with about how dogs should be in sacs, etc. Mostly, though, the Parisians liked our small, completely friendly dog, even on the bus or train. I always carried him.

I couldn't get a Navigo at the office at the Bastille without paying the 5 Euro tourist tax, even with a one-month lease in my hand, but I didn't mind. On the other hand, it was tricky to find a booth that had them in stock on the 5th of the month.

Thanks again for your great web site. It really helped.

[ben]

Josh,

Glad to hear you all had a great time in Paris! You have one lucky dog!

The Navigo Découverte is 5€ even for locals, so don't feel to bad about having to pay that. There was a privacy concern raised when STIF brought out the Passe Navigo. People complained that anyone working at the head office could track the movements of people using the Navigo. In response to that, STIF said that anyone can purchase a "non-tracked" Navigo Découverte card for 5€.

I should note on the site that not all ticket windows may have stock of the Navigo Découverte pass. Thanks for the tip.

Best regards,

Ben