Metrolinx says it is reviewing its pet policy following an online petition asking the transit agency to allow customers to travel with their dogs on GO Transit.
In a statement emailed to CP24, Metrolinx spokesperson Anne Marie Aikins called the petition “timely” as GO transit looks to review its policies every year.
Currently, only crated pets or service animals are allowed on GO Transit.
Kimberly Fleming, who launched the online petition, called the policy “short-sighted.”
“Crating a dog is unrealistic because some dogs may be too large to crate in portable crates and are too heavy and owners will struggle to carry them or if they are crated, there is no place to store the crate when the owner arrives at their destination,” she wrote in the petition.
She added that leashed pets are allowed to travel on the TTC.
“With the growth of the GTA and excessive traffic congestion, GO Transit customers need to be able to move across the city and into surrounding communities without using a car,” she said.
She noted that there are ways the transit agency could address “liability and safety concerns” and still allow pets on GO Transit.
Fleming suggested dedicating one or two cars at the front of the train as “dog free” or restricting leashed dogs to the first level.
Aikins said she has received many ideas on how the transit agency ideas could change the pet policy to better serve their customers and plans to present those suggestions to the board at a later date.
