Traveling by Denver public transit with a small dog
Photo by DenverDwellings
Denver’s Regional Transportation District (“RTD”) offers bus and light-rail service in and around Colorado’s capital city. The system covers eight counties, and stretches between Boulder and Nederland in the west, Longmont in the north, Highlands Ranch in the south, and Aurora in the east. RTD also has a fleet of airport shuttles (“skyRide” buses) that carry passengers between the airport and Denver and surrounding communities, including Boulder.
Although RTD has a really admirable website, it took some digging to learn that pet dogs are allowed on board RTD buses and trains “if they are kept in a cage or container.” [7/5/11 Thanks to an alert reader, see below, I learned that the RTD's pet policy is no longer on its website. I called today and learned that yes, pet dogs are still allowed on board RTD buses and trains, as long as they are in a carrier.]
For other posts about traveling with dogs on public transit, take a look at Dog Jaunt’s handy guide!
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I’ve always wondered about that. I don’t suppose a leash is considered contained, though. What do you do with a bigger dog?
Nope, a leash won’t do it. The policy really favors portable dogs, but you can, with effort, find really large carriers — here are a couple for 50 lb. dogs: http://store.celltei.com/bigdogcarrier.html
I like reading your posts to see how the other half lives … the other half with small dogs! I know you are sympathetic to the plight of heavier hounds, but really, what good does a carrier that holds a 50 lb dog do? The whole purpose of of public transportation is to get from point A to point B with little muss or fuss … and save gasoline. It would most likely take 2 people to handle a carrier holding a dog this size. And what do you do when you get to your location? Do you cart the carrier around with you? We need to give our big dogs a break! Have a great weekend!
Hey, I don’t make ‘em — I just report ‘em. Someone must have thought they were a good idea! (But I perfectly understand your objections, Rod!)
This was awesome and very useful info for this Denverite!! I had no idea!
I’m so glad it’s helpful, Genichka! More often than not, public transit systems DO allow small dogs in carriers onboard, but no one knows that….
I just checked RTDs website and the above referenced page is gone. I’ve dug and dug and still can’t find a policy regarding traveling with any kind of pet. I sent a query about it and will let you know what the response is when I get it.
Thank you so much for the heads-up! I’ll call tomorrow too, and between us, we’ll get the current policy.
THANK YOU for the helpful info!!