Service Animal and Pet Policy

Service animal means:

Under Department of Transportation (DOT) Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations at 49 C.F.R. Section 37.3

Any guide animal, signal animal, or other animal individually trained to work or perform tasks for an individual with a disability, including, but not limited to, guiding individuals with impaired vision, alerting individuals with impaired hearing to intruders or sounds, providing minimal protection or rescue work, pulling a wheelchair, fetching dropped items or perform specific tasks that aid the individual with a disability.

What is a Task?

A task is a certain desired behavior or set of behaviors the animal is trained to habitually perform in response to a command or a particular situation such as the onset of a seizure, which cues the animal to perform a task. The task must be related to the handler’s disability.

What is NOT an ADA recognized Task?

Spontaneous behavior an animal occasionally exhibits such as licking someone’s face; barking or growling does not qualify as a “trained task” under ADA.

Transit Operators have the right to refuse to transport service animals

Service animals that are deemed to pose a direct threat to the health or safety of drivers or other riders, create a seriously disruptive atmosphere, or are otherwise not under the rider’s control. For example, a rider with a service animal is responsible for ensuring the animal does not bite the driver or other riders.

The driver has the right to remove the animal from the vehicle at the next bus stop.

Any animal that growls or bares teeth can be immediately denied access. The animal’s owner is legally responsible for any damage to persons or property that the animal may cause.

A passenger’s request that the driver take charge of a service animal will be denied. Caring for a service animal is the responsibility of the passenger or a Passenger Care Attendant (PCA).

Service animals must be harnessed, leashed or tethered, unless these devices interfere with the service animal’s work or the individual’s disability prevents him from using these devices.

Assistance Animals International Guidelines:

Behavior

• Animals do not solicit attention, visit or annoy any member of the general public.
• Animal does not disrupt the normal course of business.
• Animals do not vocalize unnecessarily, (i.e. barking, growling or whining)
• Animals show no aggression towards people or other animals.
• Animals do not solicit or steal food or other items from the general public.
• Animal stays within 24” of its handler at all times unless the nature of a trained task requires it to be working at a greater distance.

STAGE/ADA/Service Animals

Pets

• Pets must be enclosed in an approved pet carrier
• Carriers must be closed and not block the aisles
• Carriers must not block seats

Emotional Support/Comfort Animals

• Per the ADA definition, these are not service animals
• Support/ Comfort provided is done so passively, by nature
• These animals are not trained to provide comfort and support and so are considered a pet.

Driver’s List:

1. Is this a service animal required because of a disability?
2. What work or task has the animal been trained to perform?

Before allowing them to take a seat review the rules for the service animal to ride the bus:

The animal must:

• Remain on the floor.
• not sit on the seats of the vehicle
• not seek attention or annoy other passengers
• not show aggression towards other passengers or service animals
• not block the aisle

If the animal violates these items and the handler does not correct the behavior the passenger will have to remove the animal from the bus.