City council has closed the doors on small pets on transit.
City council voted at the begining of the month against drafting a policy to allow small, crated pets onto public transport during off-peak hours.
The city’s transit committee defeated two similar motions earlier this year. Lobbyists will be unable to raise the issue again until a new city council is elected in two years.
“I’m puzzled because I don’t understand what makes Ottawa so different,” says Bay Coun. Alex Cullen, who brought the motion before council.
“Many other cities, including Toronto, Montreal, and even across the river in Gatineau, permit pets on public transit under the circumstances. They’ve been doing it for years, there have been no problems. Why can’t they at least try it out here?”
In a survey of 25 Canadian cities, Responsible Dog Owners of Canada (RDOC), which promotes responsible dog ownership through education, determined that almost all of them allow pets on public transit.
One of these is Société de transport de l’Outaouais (STO) in Gatineau, which allows small crated pets at any time of day.
The STO policy has been in place since 1996. Spokesperson Céline Gauthier says the organization has never had any problems with allergic reactions or complaints, which are two of the reasons the draft policy was defeated.
Osgoode Coun. Doug Thompson says he feels a pilot project would force bus drivers to become “pet police.”
OC Transpo wants drivers to call out stops and to fix problems with buses being too late or too early. It is also trying to implement a new multibillion dollar transit plan for the city.
Thompson says that during this time of upheaval, a policy which could result in pet mayhem is low on the priority list.
“I understand fully that people become very attached to their pets, that in some cases they become like family,” says Thompson. “But there are some cases where you have to say no, and this is one of them.”
Council heard concerns over allergic reactions, pet urine, cage size, and potential stress to drivers and other passengers.
But Candice O’Connell, chairperson of RDOC, says the notion of a transit system overrun with pets is unrealistic.
An Ipsos Reid study in 2001 determined that 74 per cent of people in Ontario own a dog or cat.
O’Connell says pet owners already transfer animal dander on their clothes, and crated animals would do little to increase the potential for allergic reactions.
She says the overriding concern is that groups such as seniors, the disabled, and low-income individuals have access to affordable transportation which allows pets under reasonable circumstances.
These groups can have strained budgets, making alternative transportation, such as taxis, unfeasible.
“It’s a small thing for us, but a very large thing for those people who are ostracized and isolated.”