The practical argument
On average, “1 in 10 tickets sold is not used because it is lost, damaged or forgotten”, deplores Île-de-France Mobilités. This is equivalent to 60 million of the 600 million tickets sold annually. At a price of 1.90 euros per unit, this represents a loss of 114 million euros per year. In addition, each year, at least 5 million tickets demagnetize and thus become unusable. Who says end of tickets says end of losses.
The green argument
Cardboard tickets, magnetized, have a real ecological impact. Inadvertently or unconsciously, many users throw them anywhere. Walking through the streets of Paris, we see them on the ground, on the sidewalks, in the parks… And, according to Île-de-France Mobilités, “A metro or bus ticket takes one to two years to decompose in nature”, or the equivalent of a cigarette butt.
The bad faith argument
Let’s face it, the metro ticket has had its day. In 2021, we live, we pay, we talk, we film with our phone. You might as well follow the digital movement and be done with that little piece of cardboard has been, right? And then, well, your ticket, we know how it ends. Either in an almost powdery state at the bottom of your jeans pocket after washing, or it hangs out for days on a corner of your table. So thank you for everything, but let’s be done.
The practical counter-argument
To replace the ticket, the RATP is working on rechargeable magnetic cards and a mobile application. A new system, and therefore new constraints. The followers of the application will have to constantly make sure to have the battery or the Internet package, otherwise it will be impossible for them to access their subscription. And, above all, this modernization will further complicate the lives of some of our seniors, plunged into the abyss of the digital divide.
The green counter-argument
In such a tourist city, a lot of people are just passing through and will throw away their cards very quickly. So, yes, there will be much less waste. But replacing a cardboard ticket with a plastic card can be questionable, knowing that plastic takes between a hundred and a thousand years to decompose in nature. As for the mobile application, it makes the phone even more essential. And its environmental impact is also enormous.
The bad faith counter-argument
Casually, we got attached to this little piece of cardboard. To see him disappear would mark the end of an era. Which would inevitably lead to a bit of nostalgia. Gone is that feeling of being a hero when you offer a ticket to a stranger when leaving the train. Flown away, this everyday friend who, in his second lives, could serve as a filter to smoke a joint, a projectile in a classroom, even a paper casserole dish.