It is an unprecedented financial gesture. For the first time, due to the degradation of the service in 2022, all travelers from the Ile-de-France regularly using public transport are entitled to a reimbursement of half a month from Navigo.
The portal for filing your claim will go online this Tuesday, March 14, in the “compensation” area of the Île-de-France Mobilités (IDFM) website. A single and unique address exists to access it. Beware of scams by email and SMS, any message or site asking you for your bank details on behalf of IDFM is a fraud. And be patient if the site is overrun and you are unable to log in over the next few days: the platform is open until April 14.
Justify three monthly payments between September and December 2022
By providing their contact details, nearly 3.4 million people will be able to send their request there to receive compensation equivalent to half a month’s subscription at the 2022 rate, i.e. 37.60 euros (for the full rate). Please note: to be eligible, you must be able to justify at least three monthly payments over the period from September to December 2022.
Once on the site, “you will then have to identify yourself via your Île-de-France Mobilités Connect account. If you do not have one, you will have to create one, warns IDFM. This is necessary to trace the purchases you have made and, if you meet the eligibility criteria, calculate the amount that will be refunded to you”.
What is the origin of these funds donated to travellers? This sum aims to “compensate” travelers from the Ile-de-France region, after a particularly disturbed autumn 2022. With a quarter of RATP bus journeys uninsured, commuter trains canceled and long waiting times in the metro, millions of users have suffered daily from often painful travel conditions.
When the service ordered is not provided, the contracts between IDFM and operators such as SNCF and RATP provide for penalties. This “reduction of charges” reaches more than 60 million euros for the year 2022. A record sum that the president of IDFM, Valérie Pécresse (LR), has decided to give back to regular travelers.
A bonus for 200,000 users of RER B and D
In addition to the reimbursement accessible to all for the degradation of the service, travelers residing, working or studying on the less regular branches of lines B and D of the RER will be able to accumulate a “bonus” of one month or half a month of Navigo. To do this, you must send a second request on the platform. “If you are eligible for both, you will need to make two separate applications. If your requests are accepted, you will receive two separate transfers,” says IDFM.
Last year, on the RER B, the Aulnay-Mitry and Aulnay – Charles-de-Gaulle branches to the north, and Saint-Rémy – Bourg-la-Reine to the south, did not reach the contractual minimum of 80% trains per hour for many months. Users of these branches who have paid six months’ flat rate over periods with degraded punctuality will be reimbursed for one month’s flat rate (ie 75.20 euros). Those who have only taken between three and five months of packages over these periods will only be entitled to half a month reimbursed.
Reimbursement of half a subscription will also be granted to users of the RER B Sud (Robinson – Bourg-la-Reine) and RER D Nord (Creil – Goussainville) sections, on condition that they justify three to five months of subscription during periods of degraded operation. According to IDFM estimates, nearly 200,000 users of RER B and D could be eligible for this compensation.
About three weeks for payment
For the request to be validated, your eligibility is determined according to your municipality of residence, registered in your personal space on the IDFM site. “If you wish to make a request under your municipality of work or study, you will then have to submit proof”, such as a certificate from the employer or a certificate of studies or schooling.
In both cases (degradation of service quality or lack of punctuality on your branch), the payment of the sum is not immediate. “A maximum of three weeks elapses between a request finalized and validated by Île-de-France Mobilités and the moment when the transfer is visible on your account. This period may be longer when there are supporting documents to be verified”, specifies IDFM. Refunds are made by bank transfer only, regardless of the payment method used when purchasing your Navigo passes.