Paw in door for dogs to ride bus
Dogs are a paw closer to being able to ride on buses after Environment Canterbury voted to consider allowing pets to join their owners on public transport.
Wellington and Dunedin allow small pets in carriers on public transport during off-peak hours, and Auckland recently made changes to allow similar.
Following a presentation to Environment Canterbury by dog owner and Diamond Harbour resident JJ Smith in September, the council told Smith it would look into in, probably within the next year.
But a notice of motion by councillor Joe Davies will see consideration to allow pets on buses brought forward and put to the public in the latter half of next year.
The public will get a chance to have a say when councillors consider the idea.
Davies said a deeper dive into policy around size, carriers, numbers and muzzles would be necessary.
“Many of us – not all, I note – would also like a small space upon the bus floor for our four-legged best friends, our life companions, to travel with us.”
He said the council would need to look to other jurisdictions, such as Nottingham District Council, where drivers use an app to scan dogs’ microchips to ensure there had been no incidents before allowing them to board.
Smith has lobbied on the issue for years, and hoped Davies’ intervention would help get “a paw in the door” sooner.
He catches the Diamond Harbour ferry with his two Jack Russell terriers, Spruce and Hazel, and finds it frustrating he can’t travel further by public transport.
Cecilia Miras also attended Wednesday’s meeting to support the motion with her Bichon-Maltese Cross, Ray Charles.
Miras said she would use public transport more if she could bring Ray Charles along, and that registering him as an assistance dog was too costly.
Chairperson Peter Scott told the meeting he was pleased with the move to get the policy included in the draft regional public transport plan.
“It’s about drivers understanding what we’re trying to do, it’s about the size of the dogs, signage, muzzles, what dogs are allowed and what time they can travel.”
But NZ Disability Advisory Trust service navigator Nick Stoneman told the council of concerns from some in the disability sector.
Stoneman said guide dogs and hearing assistance dogs on buses were at risk of being discriminated against, and people with service dogs had told him of incidents they said were the result of the changes to Auckland Transport (AT) policy. “I would want really strict controls around it, and it needs to be clear service animals have priority over a household pet – they have the right to be there and have been specifically trained.”
The meeting also heard the regional council’s flat fare trial, launched when government subsidies finished earlier this year, had helped drive a 10% rise in bus users in the second half of the year.