A last-minute rule change to allow small dogs on buses has left Environment Canterbury staff scrambling to make workable.
Councillors adopted the Canterbury Regional Transport Plan 2025/35 at a council meeting on Wednesday after a late amendment from councillor David East to allow passengers to take a small dog on the bus with a lead and a muzzle.
East’s motion passed by 8-7, and followed an earlier amendment proposed by councillor Joe Davies, which would have allowed small dogs to travel in their owner’s lap, which lost 9-6.
This was despite staff advice that dogs are not permitted in the Christchurch bus interchange, administered by the Christchurch City Council, unless they are in a secure carrier.
It could mean passengers are able to board a bus with their dog but are unable to get off with their dog at the interchange.
Davies has been lobbying for pets on buses for the last two years, following lobbying by resident JJ Smith.
He said the plan is a good example of how policy takes time.
“This is about dogs on buses. When people think about taking a pet on the bus, a dog is different because people take them to the park or to visit people.
“Dogs are companions in ways that cats and guinea pigs aren’t.”
But councillor Claire McKay said she felt allowing dogs was a risk to public safety, as “we can never be certain what a dog is going to do”.
Environment Canterbury (ECan) staff have been working on the regional transport plan since 2021 with the Canterbury Regional Transport Committee, which comprised the region’s mayors and Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency, and the Greater Christchurch Partnership Committee.
The proposed plan had a clause allowing pets to travel on buses, as long as they were in a secure carrier.
Councillor Grant Edge, who chaired the Greater Christchurch Partnership Committee’s hearing panel, said he was disappointed to see the amendment pass.
“It is incredibly naive for us not to have simply adopted the plan.
“As staff have told us, leashing and muzzling has issues with the Christchurch City Council’s rules and we have no definition of a small dog.”
Chairperson Craig Pauling questioned how bus drivers would “determine what is a small dog?”
There was still work to be one before dogs could ride on buses.
ECan staff would now engage with the Christchurch City Council, bus drivers and other stakeholders to come up with a revised code of conduct for pets on buses to present to a future council meeting.
The Greater Christchurch Partnership Committee comprised the Christchurch, Selwyn and Waimakariri councils, ECan, Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu and government agencies.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
