Comments on: Transit and Trails: Connecting People to Nature on Public Transit

By: Todd Edelman

Todd Edelman — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 04:35:31 +0000

Yes Nick, thanks for clarifying that… “Transit and Trails” leaves dogs at home — except ones which are small and can be carried in small containers or otherwise snuck on board. Of course, if a hard container is required it makes things more difficult, though I suppose it could be locked to a fence etc. at the stop near a trailhead.

Of course it’s not the fault of BAOSC that all the agencies aside from MUNI make it difficult or impossible to carry pet dogs to the wonderful places described in “Transit and Trails”. But it would be great if dog owners and their supporters encouraged BAOSC’s Transportation Working Group to take this issue… on board.

MUNI can be the literal and programmatic starting point for a new general rule: 1 – Off-peak, a reasonable number of dogs per vehicle (e.g. at least two* on a bus, the same in certain carriages on BART or Caltrain, perhaps a few more on all the ferries, and dogs not in carriers in a portion of a carshare fleet**); 2 – Half-price***/one free dog per any (future) type of pass, as further incentive to not drive; and 3 – Bus drivers/staff always have the right to decline permission to any dog they feel is a threat or a nuisance… all of this tried out in a multi-agency pilot project.

To those who are put off by this, I would like to mention two things: First, that a lot of dog owners are carfree (and not just by choice). Second, when someone selflessly adopts a dog from a shelter, it’s a drag if from then on they feel they need to – or have to – drive in order to go places with their new family member.

* Not just one per owner because some people have two dogs
** Autoshare in Toronto allows dogs not in containers in 80% of its fleet.
*** On MUNI, one has to pay the same price for a dog which they pay for themselves.

By: Nick Aster

Nick Aster — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 23:47:07 +0000

Todd – all dogs are allowed on Muni provided they are muzzled. Besides, the buses this article refers to are typically not muni, they’re other agencies that go outside of san francisco

By: Todd Edelman

Todd Edelman — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:48:35 +0000

Good thing for your dog and you that you live near a trailhead, Deborah, because larger pet dogs – too big to hold – are not allowed on public transit in the Bay Area, except for on MUNI in SF… which means just one line to Marin (76) on Sundays. One dog is allowed on board at a time, too.

In the Canada and the US, large pet dogs are allowed on transit in larger cities like Boston, Calgary, Seattle and Toronto… in addition to MUNI.

Wouldn’t in be nice to allow more of this in the Bay Area? See “Dogs on Board!” at my website and tell me if you want to help.

By: Larry O

Larry O — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 19:59:59 +0000

Just don’t refer to it as “public transit”. That phrase is guaranteed to scare off most americans. It should be called the “Hiking shuttle” or something like that.