After a successful trial in just a dozen Paris metro stations, RATP is extending its "umbrella loan" service to 340 stations and stations across its network. So, where can you find umbrellas in case of rain? And how does this service work? We tell you all about it.
If you're used to taking the Paris metro, then you've no doubt observed this scene where Parisians wait quietly in the station for the rain to stop. So, to avoid this inconvenience, RATP has launched an experiment in 2021: lending umbrellas to people who want them. Until now, this "umbrella loan" service has only been available in 13 metro stations. However, given the success of this service, the Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens has decided to extend the offer to 340 stations and stations throughout the network.
" Umbrellas are now available in 340 stations. The service has already been a resounding success, with almost 2,300 umbrellas loaned out in two years," said RATP in a press release published on Thursday November 30.
In practical terms, how does it work? If raindrops prevent you from getting out of the metro, don't hesitate to go to the reception of participating stations and ask an agent to lend you an umbrella. However, you will be asked to pay a deposit of €7 (by credit card or in cash). To get your deposit back, simply return the umbrella, " in good condition ", to one of the stations. You can also keep the umbrella if you wish. But in this case, the deposit will not be returned.
So, where can you find these umbrellas? Check out the participating RATP stations:
- On line 1, except at La Défense, Franklin Roosevelt, Concorde, Palais-Royal, Musée du Louvre and Gare de Lyon stations;
- On line 2, except at Villiers, Anvers, Pigalle, Barbès-Rochechouart, La Chapelle, Belleville, Père-Lachaise and Nation stations;
- On line 3, except at Gallieni Réaumur-Sébastopol, Saint-Lazare and Père-Lachaise stations;
- On line 4, except at Barbara, Bagneux Lucie Aubrac, Gare de l'Est, Gare du Nord, Porte d'Orléans, Porte de Clignancourt, Saint-Sulpice and Strasbourg-Saint Denis stations;
- On line 5, except at Gare d'Austerlitz, République, Gare de l'Est, Gare du Nord, Hoche, Bobigny Pantin Raymond Queneau;
- On line 6, except at Daumesnil, Bercy, Denfert-Rochereau, Montparnasse, Sèvres-Lecourbe, La Motte Picquet Grenelle Charles de Gaulle Etoile and Trocadéro stations;
- On lines 7 and 7b, except at La Courneuve 8 Mai 1945, Aubervilliers-Pantin Quatre Chemins, Chaussée d'Antin - La Fayette, Gare de l'Est, Opéra, Pyramides, Jussieu, Place des Fêtes, Palais royal - Musée du Louvre;
- On line 8, except at Créteil Préfecture, Reuilly Diderot, Bastille, Strasbourg-St Denis, Bonne nouvelle, Richelieu Drouot, Concorde, Invalides, la Motte Picquet Grenelle;
- On line 9, except at Chaussée d'Antin - La Fayette, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Trocadéro, Havre-Caumartin, République, Oberkampf, Nation,Mairie de Montreuil, Michel Ange Molitor, Porte de Montreuil;
- On line 10, except Sèvres-Babylone, Odéon, Cluny La Sorbonne;
- On line 11, except Hôtel de Ville, Châtelet, Belleville;
- On line 12, except Pasteur, Montparnasse Bienvenue, Madeleine, Saint-Lazare, Marie d'Aubervilliers and Porte de Versailles stations;
- On line 13, except Asnières - Gennevilliers Les Courtilles, Châtillon-Montrouge, Gabriel Péri, Miromesnil, Champs Elysées Clémenceau, Porte de Saint-Ouen, Montparnasse-Bienvenue, Saint-Denis - Université and Basilique de Saint-Denis stations;
- On line 14, except Bercy station;
- On RER line A, except Charles de Gaulle Etoile, Gare de Lyon, Vincennes, Rueil-Malmaison, Neuilly Plaisance, Noisy Champs, Noisiel, Bussy Saint-Georges, Marne-la-Vallée Chessy, Saint Maur Créteil and Champigny;
- On RER line B, except Châtelet les Halles, Bourg-la-Reine, Robinson and Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuses.
