Route K9

Before I got my dog, one of the things I hadn't considered was that as a transit user, I would be taking him along on the bus.  But I've discovered a wide disparity in how different public transit agencies treat man's best friend:

• King County Metro buses & Seattle streetcars: Dogs* allowed, must be on leash
• Sound Transit buses & rail: Dogs* must be in carriers
• Washington State Ferries: Dogs* must be in carriers
• Community Transit (Snohomish County): Dogs* must be muzzled
• Trimet (Oregon): Dogs* must be in carriers
• Amtrak: No dogs* allowed.

Shortly before we were kicked off the 115.

What a pain in the ass. Especially when the rules are irregularly enforced by drivers/operators. One day last year, we rode all over North King and South Snohomish counties on Metro and Community Transit, but had to turn back when a CT driver kicked us off the 115 for not having a muzzle.
And carriers? REALLY?

We have a regional ORCA fare card, but each jurisdiction has its own -- conflicting -- pet rules. Dog owners who want to go via transit need some reasonable commonality among policies, and we can do without having to tote around additional gear.

Otherwise, the message to dog owners is Stay In Your Car (if you have one) And Off Transit.



* Other than service dogs