Service Animal Paw Print Program – Lane Transit District

Lane Transit District’s Service Animal Paw Print Program creates a better boarding experience for public transit passengers with service animals. This voluntary program allows riders with service animals to receive a paw print symbol on their rider  card, which indicates to drivers that the rider has already been asked what task their service animal has been trained to perform and doesn’t need to be asked again.

What makes this innovative?

Prior to this program, passengers would expect to be asked when boarding the bus about the status of their animal and what task it is trained to perform. This can be an inconvenience for frequent riders. Through this program, regular riders need to show only their card with the paw print symbol when boarding. This contributes significantly to expediting the overall boarding process.

While anyone with a service animal who does not have a card may still board after answering questions, the Service Animal Paw Print Program benefits both transit riders and bus drivers by minimizing unnecessary barriers. This program is a collaborative partnership between a transit agency and the disability community, and riders with service animals have the choice of voluntarily participating or not. Lane Transit’s experience is that the Service Animal Paw Print Program has been enthusiastically embraced by both transit operators and passengers who have service animals. The program has resulted in a noticeable decrease in complaints and conflicts on buses.

Lessons Learned and Replication Advice

› Incorporate the program with an existing in-service training for ease of implementation and distribute cards when evaluating people with disabilities for reduced fares. Program resources required are minimal: cost of developing and disseminating cards and staff time to educate, train and implement.

› Scale the program based on the size of the transportation agency. A blueprint is available for other transit providers to replicate the Lane Transit District’s program at: www.ltd.org/file_viewer.php?id=3694.