Thursday, June 28, 2007

Pets on BART

I completely understand why BART does not allow pets onboard (assistance dogs aside). Not all pets are well behaved and not all owners are responsible. The last thing you want is to have dog poop add to the already plentiful stains on the floors and seats, or have someone's dog attack another passenger while in the train.

However, people still do bring small dogs on BART, sometimes not so small. I've seen it a few times. Little Yorkies or Chihuahuas mostly. On the most part the dogs are very well behaved aside from some occasional barking. I once even saw a little Golden Retriever puppy onboard....he was so scared and terrified of the loud sound of the train running through the tracks. I've seen people bring medium sized dogs in a crate covered by a towel.

Personally, I don't mind seeing people with their pets. Makes me happy. Keeps me entertained during my ride and distracts me from the other rude people on BART. I love animals. Dogs in particular because I'm the proud mom of the sweetest little pug in the world.

I could count so many positives to allowing dogs onboard but on the same note, I can think of a ton of negatives. Too many people just aren't the most responsible handlers of animals and it would just make BART an unpleasant experience for the rest of the passengers.

Would be nice though to take my little "king" to Embarcadero on a nice Saturday afternoon instead of battling weekend Bay Bridge traffic for an hour or more and be worn out and grouchy by the time we finally find parking!

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dogs are allowed on BART as long as they are in a crate. Service dogs are exempt from this restriction.

Anonymous said...

its amusing to see how many train operators post here... if there is any criticism about BART, they are the first to defend the system. that is all fine and dandy, but instead of defending the status quo on BART, it would be nice to see some of those operators actually listen acknowledge that things could be better on BART.

Anonymous said...

i'm a BART train operator and things could be much better @ BART. there. we know much more than the passengers that the system needs fixing. what we are usually responding to are complaints like: why was i left behind, why does the train stop, why was my train put out of sevice, why don't they do this or that. things most passengers don't really know about but make the assumption that TO's trying to jam them up for no reason.

bartmusings said...

I have noticed that there have been more BART employees posting comments recently. That is good, I do learn from their feedback. But I hope that more passengers will write comments too because I know for a fact that many people question the very same things that I question.

The only thing I don't like about BART employees' postings is when they immediately blame passengers for not reporting incidents. That may be part of the problem, but I would think the responsibility still heavily weigh on BART and how they monitor things.

Anonymous said...

Who knew we can take dogs on BART as long as tye are in a crate? I sure didn't know.

Anonymous said...

I've taken my Boston Terrier across the bay numerous times. She's used to being in her bag since I put her in it when I have to fly to LA. She's not happy about it but she doesn't bark and grumble.

Anonymous said...

I sure didn't know, I've been searching the BART website for awhile trying to find the policy on bringing pets. Thanks

Anonymous said...

I've been searching the BART website to see if I can bring my cat in a carrier on BART for the last thirty minutes. Finally I decide to do a search on Google and BAM! Here's an answer-sounds like it's okay. Their website could be a lot more helpful-thanks for the info!

Anonymous said...

Here's a link to the bart website regarding pets on board:

http://www.bart.gov/guide/pets.aspx

Anonymous said...

"BART allows pets to be brought aboard at no additional charge. The only requirement is that the pet must be secured in a container that is specifically manufactured for transport of a pet.

Animals at-large or on a leash or harness (other than service dogs) are not allowed. For more information about service animals, visit the Accessibility Services section."

englishslayer said...

does BART offer a pet carrier rental package? I would bring my dingo's carrier, but then I would have to cart it around the city all day. I would much rather give BART $5 each way for the use of one of their carriers ($10 for the day would be $ well spent and greener for the foul air)