Jun 6
Adventures of a Dog Owner and the MBTA
Happy Friday everyone. I wanted to share my experiences with how my dogs and
I have faired while using Boston’s “T” to get from A - B.
As you may or may not know I am one of the lucky laborers who reside in Boston because not only am I allowed to bring my dog(s) to work, but I’m encouraged to! In my opinion that should be the difficult part. Unfortunately the real issue is figuring out how to get them here!!
I take the 501 Express bus from Brighton to Downtown. It’s extremely convenient and fairly priced considering I get the monthly pass for $89 and it costs multiple times more than that to drive in. Here is a link to the section of the MBTA website that discusses their policy on pets on the T. It’s very short but clear and concise.
Heres what I do if I’m bringing a dog with me to work: 1) Get up early 2) Head to the bus stop before the masses - 7ish 3) Say to the bus driver “He/She is extremely friendly and very well behaved” following that routine I have about a 90% success rate of getting on the bus. The way home is a different story.
The first 501 heads home at 4:30 from downtown. So heres what I do to get home. 1) Try to get on the first bus to beat the masses - usually doesn’t work 2) Get denied by the next 2 or 3 buses because they are “full” 3) Complain to the MBTA attendant standing at the Federal and Franklin stop downtown that I HAVE to get home and they won’t let me on 4) Wait for the bus driver who isn’t afraid of dogs to let me ride. The success rate is much lower for me on the way home.
I usually make it home at some point, and keeping in mind that I’m talking about 65 - 75 pound dogs who can look rather intimidating at times I think I’m doing alright. Also keep in mind that when we get on the bus my dog is instructed to sit or lie down at my feet and stay there for the remainder of the trip.
Does anyone else commute on public transportation with their furry friends? what about getting to the vet if you didn’t have a car?
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I have an initiated a project to encourage more transit systems in Canada and the USA to allow large pet dogs. I realize that the MBTA is one of few in these two countries which allow it; the project also has goals of expanding dog carriage possibilities (e.g. to systems and services connecting with MBTA like ferries to the Cape and Amtrak) and improving the existing service.
Based on this Blog entry, it seems like it would be useful to treat the bus driver’s fear of dogs (or the fear they project onto passengers). This fear is understandable, but on the other hand the system does allow the possibility of bringing dogs on board. In Europe as well - where dogs are allowed on most urban transit and intercity trains - the driver or other staff are given the final say, but - as the author of the entry describes - in places/cultures where dogs are misunderstood this can create very unpredictable conditions, something which should be strictly avoided if it is desired to have as many people as possible riding transit. Dogs want to be more sustainable!
Comment by Todd Edelman — June 7, 2008 @ 11:49 am
My dog Lily (a 10lb Yorkie) travels with me all the time on the green and redline T and sits on my lap. I’m lucky too as our office encourages bringing dogs to work. I’ve only had one issue on the T during rush hour when I had Lily and a friend’s black lab. The T official told me that I had to ask permission from the T driver to bring the larger black lab. Fortunately, the driver allowed it. It would have been a long dog walk home.
Comment by Lisa Finch — June 10, 2008 @ 10:37 pm
Lisa, that’s awesome that your dog travels with you all the time. And that is definitely an advantage of having a smaller dog.
Also, its very cool you’re encouraged to bring your dog to work! What does she do all day? Do a lot of other people bring their dogs as well?
Comment by Mitch — June 18, 2008 @ 2:41 pm