The RATP bus network covers the entire territory of the city of
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
and the vast majority of its near
suburb
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separ ...
s.
Operated by the
Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens (RATP), this constitutes a dense bus network complementary to other public transport networks, all organized and financed by
Île-de-France Mobilités
Île-de-France Mobilités (ÎDF Mobilités), formerly ''STIF'', is the brand name of the ''Syndicat des transports d'Île-de-France'', the organisation authority that controls and coordinates the different transport companies operating in the ...
.
Other suburban bus lines are managed by private operators grouped in a consortium known as
Optile ('), an association of 80 private bus operators holding exclusive rights on their lines. There are approximately 9500 buses serving public transportation across the Paris region, all operators included.
Network
RATP operates:
* 70 lines with a route exclusively or mainly on the territory of the city of Paris including :
** 64 lines numbered from to ;
** the line completing (with ) a circular transport service surrounding Paris's borders along the
''Boulevards des Maréchaux'' ;
** 5 out of the 6 specially identified parisian circular bus lines designated as "''Lignes Traverse" : '' , , and .
* 194 lines with a route exclusively or mainly in the near suburbs of Paris including:
** 89 lines numbered from to ;
** 57 lines numbered from to ;
** 49 lines numbered from to .
* a dozen lines (numbered in the 400 series) subcontracted by local public transport companies belonging to the
Optile group ;
* several "urban" line services numbered in the 500 series but generally designated by a trade name, covering small suburban shuttle services and often subsidized by covered cities ;
*2 direct bus lines from Paris to CDG and ORY airports : &
*the "Opentour" tourist lines ;
* the lines of the "Titus" and "Valouette" networks ;
* several temporary lines created to cover passenger shifts along a future subway or tram line extension (such as line before northern extension of towards the
town hall of Aubervilliers or now-former line before northern extension of from
Saint Lazare train station to the
town hall of Saint Ouen.
*several lines kept in service to cover passenger shifts prior to subway or tram line extensions or creations (such as line before southern extension of from
Orly Airport
Paris Orly Airport (french: Aéroport de Paris-Orly), commonly referred to as Orly , is one of two international airports serving the French capital, Paris, the other one being Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG). It is located partially in Orly ...
to
Juvisy train station, or before extension of towards said airport).
* 32 night shift lines (including two subcontracted) grouped in the
Noctilien
Noctilien is the night bus service in Paris and its agglomeration. It is managed by the Île-de-France Mobilités (formerly the STIF), the Île-de-France regional public transit authority, and operated by RATP (with 32 lines) and Transilien SNC ...
night bus network.
Routes
RATP bus lines operating mainly in the city proper of
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
, are named with a two-digit code number called ''"indice"''. Bus lines operated mainly in the suburbs are named with a three-digit number code.
RATP uses the numbers 20 to 96 for lines operated mainly in the city proper (1 to 19 are unused to avoid confusion with
Metro lines) ; along with bus line (line 100) which runs along the ''Boulevard des Maréchaux'' section that is not yet covered by
(Tramway lines 3a & 3b) . All this according to an organized scheme used since public transportation reorganization post-WWII.
The first digit represents the sector in Paris where the line's starting point is located:
* 2x representing
Gare Saint-Lazare
The Gare Saint-Lazare (English: St Lazarus station), officially Paris-Saint-Lazare, is one of the six large mainline railway station termini in Paris, France. It serves train services toward Normandy, northwest of Paris, along the Paris–Le Hav ...
* 3x representing
Gare de l'Est
* 4x representing
Gare du Nord
The Gare du Nord (; English: ''station of the North'' or ''Northern Station''), officially Paris-Nord, is one of the six large mainline railway station termini in Paris, France. The station accommodates the trains that run between the capital ...
* 5x representing
Opéra and overall
Rive Droite
The Rive Droite (, ''Right Bank'') is most commonly associated with the river Seine in central Paris. Here, the river flows roughly westwards, cutting the city into two parts. When facing downstream, the northern bank is to the right, and the so ...
* 6x representing
Austerlitz or
Gare de Lyon train stations
* 7x represents
Châtelet and overall Center of Paris (along Rivoli Street)
* 8x represents
Quartier Latin and overall
Rive Gauche
* 9x represents
Gare Montparnasse
Gare Montparnasse (; Montparnasse station), officially Paris-Montparnasse, one of the six large Paris railway termini, is located in the 14th and 15th arrondissements.
The station opened in 1840, was rebuilt in 1852 and relocated in 1969 to ...
.
The digit number represents the outermost arrondissement the line finishes (or crosses Paris' borders) in:
* x2 represents the
16th arrondissement (from
Pont du Garigliano
The Pont du Garigliano is a bridge across the Seine in Paris.
Location and construction
The Pont du Garigliano links Boulevard Martial-Valin in the quartier de Javel ( 15th arrondissement), to Boulevard Exelmans in the Auteuil quartier ( 16th ...
to
Porte Maillot)
* x3 and x4 represent the
17th arrondissement (from Porte Maillot to Porte d'Asnières for lines ending in 3, from
Porte de Clichy
Porte de Clichy () is a station on Line 13 and Line 14 of the Paris Métro and RER C, as well as a stop on Île-de-France tramway Line 3b. Located in the 17th arrondissement, the Métro station is situated on the northwestern branch of Li ...
to Porte des Poissonniers for lines ending in 4)
* x5 represents the
18th arrondissement
The 18th arrondissement of Paris (''XVIIIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, this arrondissement is referred to as ''dix-huitième''.
The arrondissement, known as Butte-Montmartr ...
and the
19th arrondissement (from
Porte de la Chapelle to
Porte des Lilas)
* x6 represents the
20th arrondissement
The 20th arrondissement of Paris (known in French as the ''XXe arrondissement de Paris'' or simply as "''le vingtième''") is the last of the consecutively numbered arrondissements of the capital city of France. Also known as Ménilmontant () af ...
and the
12th arrondissement (from
Porte de Bagnolet to
Porte de Charenton)
* x7 represents the
13th arrondissement (from Quai d'Ivry to
Cité Universitaire)
* x8 represents the
14th arrondissement (from
Montsouris to
Porte de Vanves)
* x9 represents the
15th arrondissement (from Porte de Vanves to Pont du Garigliano)
0 and 1 are used as "wildcards" for lines whose rightful indice is already taken, or for lines ending inside of Paris (40 or 91 for example).
A deep reorganization of the Paris bus network took place on April the 20th 2019. Although it didn't change the overall scheme mentioned above, it brought several irregularities, such as lines & no longer starting from Saint Lazare train station while brand new line doesn't even approach it, line now cut long before the Gare de l'Est, line that doesn't even approach the Gare du Nord, or lines & that do not start from the center of Paris.
Bus services
RATP operates 70 bus lines within the city of Paris proper, and a little over 200 bus lines in Paris suburbs.
In 2017, 1.15 billion journeys were made on RATP bus lines, including 382 million journeys on Paris lines and 768 million journeys on suburbs lines.
Paris buses
Airport direct shuttle buses
Suburban buses
Night buses (Noctilien)
Special and circular bus lines
Special and circular bus lines in Paris
Special and circular bus lines in suburbs
References
External links
RATP Web site with complete mapsKML map showing stop locationsGrand Paris des Bus
{{portal, Roads
Transport infrastructure in Île-de-France
Bus transport in France
RATP Group