Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Today was a Working Holiday for me.
After several preliminary investigatory efforts by Daddy, over the last 8 months, it was time for us to take the Feline Utility Vehicle (FUV) out for a spin that would include attempting to take the Pussycat Purrrrambulator on the local Mass Transit for the first time, as part of a Feline News Network Investigation.
Besides, I needed to take Daddy out for some pre-Thanksgiving Dinner exercise. ;-D
As regular readers know a lot has happened around here since May, and aside from Elvira Mistress of Felinity going out for her 1st Stroll I'd only been out twice myself, in June, and on Election Day earlier this month.
Our complete Archive of stories: Strolling: Come Stroll With Me & See the World!
Not long after Daddy got me the Stroller, for my birthday in March, he began to wonder if it was possible to take it on the bus, like his shopping cart.
The length, width, and height, were virtually the same, with the edge going to the Stroller for being far less wide, and thus making it conceivably easier to manage on the bus since the ailse is only an inch, or 2, wider than the Cart in some places on the bus.
The Cart is 39 in. high, 22 1/2 in. wide, and 19 in. long.
My Stroller is 40 in. high, 17 1/2 in. wide, and 27 in. long.
When he went shopping he took along a measuring tape, and his camera, to take a picture, and some measurements of the width of the aisles of the different model busses most frequently used by the Orange County Transit Agency (OCTA), and he was encouraged to learn that Long Beach Transit allowed Pet Strollers on their busses, though he never saw anyone do so.
Over the summer he witnessed a Human in a wheelchair being allowed on a bus, after Daddy knew that the man had been sitting at the stop for a couple of hours, and been denied 4 times.
The reason he was denied was that it was against the rules to bring an animal on the bus that was not in a carrier, or was not a Service Animal on a leash, used to help the disabled.
While Daddy watched, on the ride, the man fell asleep, not the Dog, and thus his grip on the unrestrained animal was no longer secure.
If the Dog had decided to jump at someone, or something, or the bus had come to a sudden stop, the dog would have been off his lap, and could have hurt itself, or a passenger.
As it was the Dog wisely kept its mouth shut, and didn't move a muscle, according to Daddy. ;-D
When Daddy went to get off the bus he pointed all of this out to the driver, but she just shrugged without comment.
Daddy next set about to learn what was allowed on OCTA Busses.
He already knew about the Service Animal Rule, and the things below, because the Bus Schedule Book had the info:
Human Strollers, for their Little Humans, must be folded prior to boarding the bus, and the little ones carried onto the bus.
Surfboards, those funny looking things the Humans use to go play in the water at the beach, are permitted as long as they do not exceed 6 ft., 6 in. in length, which is way, way, longer than my Stroller!
No wonder we have never seen either in all the years we have rode the bus, and he had rode the bus, in several counties, before I came into his life in 1998. This led him to ask bus drivers, but all he got was instructions that strollers had to be folded. They seemed to ignore the distinction between Animal occupant, and usage, and Human occupant, and usage. When he talked to someone at the Transit store he found they didn't have an answer except to tell him to contact someone in Customer Relations. With other things happening he never got around to do that, and that's where things stood until late last month when he chatted with one of his favorite bus drivers, a man who he had not rode with in many months. They spent a couple of rides catching up, and Daddy told him about his quest for answers, and showed him pictures of us with the Stroller. One day the man dug out the July 2010 edition of the OCTA Coach Operator Handbook, and told him the answers to his questions were in there, and that he was pretty sure the answer was in our favor, though he'd never encountered a passenger with a Pet Stroller himself. Daddy sat down and, as the bus went on its way, opened the book.... While Daddy knew that it was OK to bring Cats, and small Dogs, on the bus in the standard box carrier we all put up with despite their cramped quarters, he saw no mention of this in the bus book, or even a mention of Pet Strollers.
On page 127, in Section 9.6, under the heading of ARTICLES ALLOWED & NOT ALLOWED ON BUSSES, was the following information:
ALLOWED: Unfolded Carts with Groceries, or Personal Items, as long as they do not block the aisle.
A Dog, or Cat, in a Travel Carrier ( To include Soft Carriers ).
Surfboards less than 6ft. 6in. in length.
Under these rules a Stroller, or more than one, with the small pet inside ( It would also qualify as a Personal Item, too. ), is allowed on board as long as it, ( or they ) does not block the aisle.
All that was left for us to do was to put these rules to the test, and see if any bus driver would deny us access to Public Transportation.
I did a search of the wonderful Pet Tales Blog, of the Orange County Register (They list me as a "Blog We Dig".) to see if they had covered the Stroller Scene, locally, or nationally, in any way, including access issues, but all I found were brief mention in stories last December, and January, about Pet Gifts, in the Cat Archives.
So it seemed the Feline News Network had the story all to itself. ;-D
I put on my Game Face, and off we went, this morning. ;-D
The first bus we got on was the eastbound #56.
The driver was obviously startled but once he understood I was in a Pet Stroller he had not issue with our getting on the bus.
As you can see there was plenty of room to roll down the aisle to the wider area, closer to the rear door, where Daddy set me off to the side, close to the seat he was in, and set the brakes of the Stroller.
Passengers were interested, and amused, as Daddy explained about the Stroller.
We got off at La Veta & Main St., in Orange, strolled to the 7-11 to get the newspapers, and went to catch the #53 bus, south on Main St.
The bus was the same type as the first, and the driver again gave us no problem, laughing as Daddy assured that my chatter was not a complaint about the driving (I was telling Daddy my thoughts on riding the Stroller on the bus.).
If needed we could even have gone up those steps all the way to the back of the bus, where there were more side facing seats, without a problem.
Our next bus was the #60, heading west on 17th, from Main, in Santa Ana, and the model we hoped for came along.
The longer busses, with the "Accordion" like middle did not present a problem, however, which was very encouraging.
The driver wanted us to fold the Stroller, but Daddy told him it was a Pet Carrier and, unlike a Little Human, wasn't gonna get loose to romp up, and down the aisles of the bus, so the driver let us on without further question.
Daddy rolled me easily thru the first section of the bus, thru the "Accordion" middle, and to the rear section near the back door.
Again we had passengers reacting with interest, and amusement, at our presense. ;-D
Again we met with no resistance from the driver. When asked she said she had never encountere anyone with a Pet Stroller wanting to get on a bus she was driving. The other drivers said this as well. I can understand if the Humans who take their pets Strolling, do not give the notion any thought, or, if they did, didn't know how to go about finding out the rules of their local transit agency, especially if the bus books, or websites, don't spell things out in any way. The ride on the bus was always smooth, and comfortable, not to mention interesting, with lots to look at, from the fixtures, to the driver, and the passengers, and their possesions. Maneuvering the Stroller up and down the aisle, and placing it where it ws out of the way of others, was a cinch. Plus many of the Humans were attracted by my charm, and manly good looks, to ask about me, and compliment me. ;-D I find myself wondering how many Stroller Cats, and Dogs, there are in Orange County, and how many of them, and their Humans, were using the Bus, or even thought to do so, and what their experiences were like, good, and bad. I'd love to hear from anyone, in The OC, Southern California, the rest of America, and around the world, on this subject, and what the rules are where they live. You can leave comments, and links to posts of your own, or send them to me using the e-mail in the sidebar. ;-D Our last bus was the northbound #57, on Bristol, from 17th.
Very interesting.
We don't have bus service here, but we enjoyed reading about your research, and experience, with a pet stroller on your local buses.
Posted by: jansfunnyfarm | November 26, 2010 at 10:18 AM
Interesting post!
Love the photo of you and your Daddy together!
Good to know you weren't complaining about the bus driver's driving.
My Cats would likely freak if I took them out like that...not as adventurous as you.
But it makes me wonder what the rules in NYC are re: pet strollers..hmmm...
Posted by: Tamar Arslanian | November 27, 2010 at 07:51 AM
What a wonderful article this is.
This is great reference material.
Excellent job, Nikita!
Love & Purrs,
KC
Posted by: KC | November 28, 2010 at 09:44 AM
That's sooo wonderpurr that you can ride the buses where you live!
Tabby says: I ride the buses all the time to go visiting!
In Vancouver, WA, where we live now, the buses want me in a carrier.
However, when we get to Portland, OR, where the place I visit is, I can be in my stroller on the bus and light-rail transit.
You can see pics of the system I use, my stroller (which is like yours, except the shorter model) and my soft-sided carrier that we hang on the handle of the stroller for the Vancouver buses.
Isn't it fun to watch the other passengers realize that you're in the stroller? ;)
We're pretty well-known on the bus systems here, in both cities.
In fact, sometimes we get other passengers who know us and they tell the ones who don't that it's me inside and about the work I do!!! :)
Posted by: PDX pride | March 05, 2011 at 05:29 PM
You're a Stroller Pussy, too Tabby?
Cool!
That's an interesting difference between Portland & Vancouver.
Did your Human ever check the Bus Company Rules to be sure you can't use the Stroller?
Daddy learned from a Bus Driver what we needed to know, and we figure there have to be other Stroller Kitties in the OC who would do as we do, if they only knew they could.
I'd love to see those pictures, if you have them on your blog!
I've visited your blog, but I guess I keep missing any Stroller reports. ;-D
The best part for me is I can keep up a running commentary about all I see, for Daddy to take notes for me to use later, and only Daddy understands what I am saying! ;-D
Posted by: Nikita Cat | March 08, 2011 at 08:53 PM
Yep!
If you look at my visit diaries, I ride my stroller to, and from, those on public transportation, and include pics.
They're also on my FB page.
I keep up a running commentary for about the first 10 minutes, then I settle down to watch the other passengers.
We checked the official rules, and all strollers (including pet strollers) have to be folded.
C-tran (Vancouver) doesn't make a distinction between human baby strollers and pet strollers.
Tri-met (Portland) does.
Posted by: PDX pride | March 09, 2011 at 01:22 AM