Transport with pets in Australia:Dogs and other pets are allowed on metro trains in Melbourne, but not on buses.
Dogs are allowed on buses in NSW, but the majority of bus drivers don’t know their own regulations.
In Queensland, the Regulations permit a passenger to bring an animal on a bus with the driver’s permission. However Translink decided that only approved assistance animals are allowed.
Queensland claims that pets present a risk – but they haven’t done a risk analysis!
Although dogs are allowed on buses and ferries in NSW, they are not allowed on trains.
Yet they are allowed on trains if the dog provides ‘therapeutic benefit to its owner or another person’. Most dogs provide this.
RailCorp goes one better, requiring an annual pass for an Assistance Dog with medical proof of a disability (of the person), and proof of toileting on command (the dog, we hope.)
- RailCorp further outdo themselves by prohibiting an animal to drink water on the train OR at the station. Logically it follows, that dog is not allowed to wee on railway property either.
Sydney Monorail and Metro Light Rail allow dogs, cat, birds or other animals and they sign-post it.
Most private ferries and punts in NSW welcome pets, with operators stating they are usually better behaved then children.
Barking Mad has correspondence from the NSW Transport Minister and the Director General stating pets are permitted at the discretion of the driver/operator. This discretion is a rare display of common sense that considers the cleanliness and control of the animal. Similar considerations for letting people on board are taken all the time!
4 comments:
Dog and Cats can go on NSW buses at the discretion of the driver as long as the animal is in a suitable container/box. I'm on the understanding that companion dogs are not permitted if they are only on a lease.
That's awfully restrictive. I've ridden public buses in Seattle WA (NW of the US) for 40 years, and all animals are allowed on, as long as they're well behaved. I've never seen an animal make a mess or bother anyone, but I've seen plenty of humans do so.
Dogs bite, kill and bark, and they are not essential to ones life. As for the health benefis to owning a dog, how many dog owners take sickies? More than non dog owners. Yeah, have your dogs, but do not expect the rest of the population to tolerate tha barking, the pooh, the jumping up or to have to be exposed to them on public transport. Some people would rather not be exposed to animals, and their rights to peaceful travel are compromised by those the force the dog world unto the unwilling. I had dogs, but I do have respect for the needs of others too. Think of it that way. You dog is your choice. Keep you dog in a way to never issue discomfort to others.
It is simply polite. If you must travel with your pet, do it thoughtfully.
Someone posted the following comment: "Dogs bite, kill and bark, and they are not essential to ones life. As for the health benefis to owning a dog, how many dog owners take sickies? More than non dog owners. Yeah, have your dogs, but do not expect the rest of the population to tolerate tha barking, the pooh, the jumping up or to have to be exposed to them on public transport"
Sounds like a load of pooh to me.
How many dogs bite, let alone kill - I'll bet far less people are harmed by dogs than by other people!!
As for the 'sickies' what a load on nonsense. No research to back this up at all.
On public transport I have to tolerate noisy/rude/pushy/nosy children, smelly people, clearly disturbed or drugged people behaving erratically, people with large bikes/bags/prams in the way, people who yell into their cell phone or to their friend the whole trip, tone deaf people who insist on singing/whistling/playing a guitar, inconsiderate people who block off free seats.... How is a well behaved dog any worse than all that!
And I'm at far more risk from the people on the train than any dogs - if I don't get pushed, groped or stabbed, I might catch something from the people who cough all over everyone, who haven't washed their hands after going to the toilet or sneezing and transfer their bugs to the train.
Even if a dog did pooh on a train (a very unlikely occurrence anyway), that won't do me as much harm as what the people might.
Many people would rather not be exposed to any of the above annoyances from human beings, but there is no choice in this.
Let's get real for a moment...just how many dogs has the person who posted the paranoid rant I am replying to actually seen on public transport? And how many of those dogs jumped up on people? How many poohed on the public transport? And how many barked while on the public transport.
If you are going to visit a dog-friendly site to stir, at least post something intelligent.
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