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IDF Mobility: 5 Handy Tips to Know About This App

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The Editor

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Some apps in life are downloaded more out of habit than anything else. We find them on our home screens because "they look good," without really knowing what they might be useful for or what they can bring to our everyday lives.

It might be easy to think that the Île-de-France Mobilités app falls into that category. However, not at all! It’s actually a handy little tool, as demonstrated by the 6 features we’re excited to share with you.


1. You can buy your transportation tickets there

Since the disappearance of the paper ticket (a little revolution in the Paris transportation world, by the way), it's become a bit trickier to get single-use transportation tickets. The simple reason is that now you need to buy a physical card to top up, which is a bit more complex. Fortunately, recently, you just need to connect to your app from your phone and tap it on the turnstiles to access the fabulous corridors of the metro.


2. Even better, you can recharge your transport tickets here!

The double benefit of this famous IDF Mobilité app is that not only does it offer you digital tickets, but it also lets you recharge your pass directly, whether it’s daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, or whatever else you need. Gone are the days of endless waiting at the start of each month to access a kiosk at the station; it takes just thirty seconds! All you have to do is place your card on the back of your smartphone, and it works instantly. See, technology can be a good thing sometimes, right?


3. You can rent another mode of transport

Yes indeed, IDFM is not just about the metros and RERs in the region — oh so convenient, by the way! From the « Purchases » section of the app, you can also access rental systems for bikes, scooters, and even car-sharing options. Super handy if your train or RER is canceled at the last minute, if you were planning to walk and it suddenly starts pouring rain, or if it's a lovely beautiful day out and you want to do something good for your body and the planet by suddenly choosing to bike.


4. You can report inappropriate behaviors

There are too many harassments in public transport, whether they are physical, verbal, or sexual, and we all know it, there are way too many. Far too many. Most of the time, they don't provoke any reaction and quickly fade into oblivion. Thankfully for all victims, you can now report them live from the app by clicking on the 3117 icon on the home screen. This gesture will allow you to contact the aut...oriented users, but also to inform other users.


5. You can discover tips to optimize your journeys

Last, but not least (which means the final point, and certainly not the least, but in a slightly fancier way), the app is packed with little tips to make your daily trips easier. For instance, there's the feature that shows you where to stand in the metro to easily find your connections or exits. Or how about the one that lets you favorite your preferred lines (because, let’s be honest, who doesn’t have a favorite line?) to get real-time updates on everything happening, including the little inconveniences that add to the charm of the Paris metro.