MalFr

For my good fortune, next Tuesday 17th I have to get from Gare Montparnasse to CDG (my train is already confirmed as running)
Normally, M6 then RER B in 55 mins, not really an issue even on a Monday "rentree" morning.

With the next national strike scheduled for the 17th and the service reduction to about 1/3 and the missing RATP/SNCF connection in Gare du Nord, i'm now wondering about using Le Bus Direct instead.
I've used LBD in normal times to Orly and it's "fine", but never during a strike nor to CDG.
LBD shows a journey time of ~80mins to CDG. Taking the 10.15 bus would normally get me to CDG just after 11am, perfect for a 12:30 departure - all AF/CDG/ATC things being equal.
But any guesses as to how bad the road delays to get to CDG will be, due to protests or extra traffic? Or how long the queue to get the bus will be? 30mins i could accept. 45m is pushing it. An hour... Um....
I'm hoping the week before Christmas and it'll be quieter than normal, but that's just wishful thinking perhaps?

To take the RER means walking the 1.5Km to Denfert Roch, eventually catch one of the 1/3 RERs to GdN, change to CDG for another 1/3 RER to CDG...

Any suggestions about the choice: LBD/RER?

As FB gold apparently i thought saw i was able to get a "free" ticket on LBD but can't find it now. Anyone ever done this?

Cheers,

Mal

Yahillwe

I would take a taxi on the 17th. The manifs will go through Denfert and probably the streets around Montparnasse might be closed. It isn't going to be a nice manifestation.

IstKong

I would avoid taking the RER B during this strike, because it is extremely chaotic (check twitter). Very few trains, and you really don't want to be inside especially with luggages.

Le bus direct is a good alternative. Take into consideration potential traffic jam during peak hours (CDG to Paris between 06 AM to 10 AM / Paris to CDG between 4 PM to 8 PM).

Also, taxi will stay at fixed fare contrary to Uber that is doubling the prices (UberX 90€ Paris to CDG during peak time).

The best option can be booking a regular Taxi like G7, it should be less than 65€. Otherwise, le bus direct is OK. Montparnasse should not be affected by the protest of the 17th of december as far as I know, the protest is from Nation to Republique this day.

Allow plenty of time because of potential heavy traffic.

Yahillwe

The last time it was both Republic AND Denfert. They even took out the cobble stones, but thank the heavens they didn't use them.

MalFr

Thanks all for the replies.
My once confirmed train has now been cancelled, so plannin to arrive the night before and just get a taxi.
Based on previous experiences, are there likely to be taxi shortages at montparnasse and best to book? Or only a short wait?

MalFr

Quick follow-up for anyone who may be interested:
Train arrived about 30 mins late at Montparnasse, around 8pm. 15 or so people in the taxi queue but no taxis to be seen.so I skipped it and went to LBD instead.
Around the same number of pax waiting for LBD, so joined the group (hardly a queue) and the bus "crew" soon arrived. Bus left 20% full at around 8.20, and just a few pax picked up at Gare de Lyon.
FB Gold card is only valid for transfers between CDG and ORY, not to/from CDG and other stops.
I'd say light traffic thru Paris, arrived CDG T1 about 9.30, T2C around 10 mins laters.
for the time being now my backup plan to M6/RER B between CDG <-> Montparnasse.

Concerto

Out of interest, what was the cost of the bus? I would be interested in taking the bus more often as I find the RER a dismal experience. And it's not exactly cheap either, even with the carnet of tickets.

maxjasper

Les BusDirect online booking lines 1,2,3,4
https://www.lebusdirect.com/en/

MalFr

i think I paid 17euros each way from CDG/Montparnasse. A return is ITRO 27eu..

While my journey to CDG went quite smoothly, the return a few days later was anything but - almost 4 hours in total in the middle of the day. Despite their "every 20mins" schedule, it took more than an hour for a replacement bus to arrive and then 3 hours through the traffic.

runpete

My husband and I were in Paris on Monday. We checked into our nearby airport hotel and looked at our options to get into Paris: RER B, Le Bus Direct, or taking a cab. We decided on Le Bus into the city and a cab back out. We headed back to CDG and to Le Bus Direct ticket station. We arrived to find only one ticket machine was working and a significant line. We know we had the option to buy tickets from the driver, but each platform already had long lines for each bus line and the next bus wasn't due for 30 minutes. We only had one full day in Paris so anything to get us extra time to visit our favorite sites and explore was worth it. Knowing that a cab was only €14 more, would save us time, and get us to the same destination, we headed to the taxi stand. There was no line at the taxi stand and before we knew it we were on our way. Our driver got us to the Arc de Triomphe in about an hour. In the evening we used the G7 app to hail a cab on the way back to the airport. We were worn out from walking, food coma was setting in, and I fell asleep in the cab. The trip back was over an hour even with our driver doing an impressive job zigzagging through traffic...at least the part I was awake for.

Concerto

Probably a good decision, the taxi.
One way to Gare Montparnasse is now showing as €18, and the site is down for maintenance anyway. These are Leonardo Express in Rome prices, the cheapest way is still the RER.