>Service Animal Policy
Under Department of Transportation (DOT) Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations at 49 C.F.R. Section 37.3, “service animal” is defined as “any guide dog, signal dog, or other animal individually trained to work or perform tasks for an individual with a disability, including, but not limited to, guiding individuals with impaired vision, alerting individuals with impaired hearing to intruders or sounds, providing minimal protection or rescue work, pulling a wheelchair, or fetching dropped items.” Service animals can travel outside of a carrier, but must be leashed or harnessed except when performing tasks where tethering interferes with the animal’s ability to perform, remain in the owner’s control and not pose a threat to others, remain in a sitting or laying position, and not block the aisle of the vehicle or occupy a seat. In addition, Washington State’s Law Against Discrimination states that any dog or miniature horse that is undergoing training to become a service animal shall be allowed access to places of public accommodation.
C-TRAN may ask the following questions to ensure compliance with service animal requirements: Is the animal a service animal? What work or task has the animal been trained, or is in training, to perform?
Pet/Comfort/Emotional Support Animal Policy
Comfort/emotional Support animals are allowed on C-TRAN but must be in an enclosed pet carrier that fits on the floor in front of you or on your lap. The carrier may not block the aisle of the vehicle or occupy another seat. Comfort/emotional support animals provide comfort to their owners, but have not been trained to perform a specific duty or task.
Please note that our smaller mini-vans are unable to accommodate service animals, simply due to lack of space and its impact to driver and passenger safety. If you need to travel with your service animal(s), it must be done on regular C-VAN or fixed-route vehicles.