Animals taking public transportation explained

Some domestic pets, feral animals and wild animals have learned to use human public transportation to travel independently. This is tolerated or even celebrated by passengers, although most public transportation systems only allow service animals and forbid pets.

According to urban wildlife specialist Suzanne MacDonald, animal "commuters" are usually motivated by food and security available on the vehicle rather than its ability to take them to a destination.^[1]

Notable examples

Food and security

Examples of animals relying on public transportation for food or a secure environment include:

• Boji, a street dog in Istanbul, is notable for riding all forms of public transportation, including ferries, buses, metros and trams. The Istanbul metro has reported that he visits at least 29 metro stations each day.^[2]
• Dodger, an elderly cat in Dorset, England, took round trips on several buses and was suspected to be motivated by the warmth.^[3]
• Pigeons have been reported to scavenge New York City subway trains for food.^[1] In addition, urban wild animals such as coyotes in the US and monkeys in India have been spotted on public transportation,^[4] although they are typically not encouraged to return.

Travel

Animals have been observed numerous times to ride public transport as a means to reach a desired destination:

• Street dogs in Moscow use the subway as a means of transportation,^[5] and Malchik, a subway stray dog, has its own statue in Mendeleyevskaya station.
• Casper, a cat in Plymouth, England took 11miles round trips to the city centre via bus. His owner authored a children's book about his exploits, Casper the Commuting Cat.^[6]
• Eclipse, a black labrador in Seattle, would occasionally ride the bus ahead of its owner when eager to get to the dog park.^[7]
• Ratty, a Jack Russell terrier in Yorkshire, England, traveled by bus to be fed at two pubs.^[8]
• Macavity, a cat in Walsall, rode the bus several times a week to a destination near a fish and chip shop.^[9]
• Canuck the Crow, a northwestern crow, took the SkyTrain in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada several days a week to forage in different stations with little effort.^[10]

Notes and References

1. Web site: 5 Animal "Commuters": Train-Riding Monkeys, More . https://web.archive.org/web/20130427093138/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/04/130424-animals-weird-cats-science-world-trains-buses/ . dead . April 27, 2013 . News.nationalgeographic.com . 2013-04-25 . 2015-07-02.
2. News: Ayoubi. Nur. 6 October 2021. Meet Boji, Istanbul's commuting street dog and newest influencer. Middle East Eye.
3. News: Owner surprised to find cat regularly catches bus. 9 February 2017. Telegraph.co.uk. en.
4. Web site: Moss . Laura . Commuting critters: Animals that ride public transportation | MNN - Mother Nature Network . MNN . 2013-04-30 . 2015-07-02 . 2013-06-07 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130607161550/http://www.mnn.com/green-tech/transportation/stories/commuting-critters-animals-that-ride-public-transportation . dead .
5. Web site: Russia: Stray Dogs Master Complex Moscow Subway System - ABC News . Abcnews.go.com . 2010-03-19 . 2015-07-02.
6. Web site: Tales of Casper the commuting cat from Plymouth . Joint . Laura . 2010-08-04 . . 2023-09-16.
7. Web site: Seattle Dog Figures Out Buses, Starts Riding Solo To The Dog Park . Huffingtonpost.com . 2015-01-13 . 2015-07-02.
8. News: Stead. Mark. Ratty, the York bus-travelling dog who made headlines all over world dies. 9 February 2017. York Press. 6 April 2010.
9. News: DeLuca. Ashleigh. Dell'Amore. Christine. So About That Hairy Guy on the Bus … True-Life Animal Commuters. https://web.archive.org/web/20150120131636/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2015/01/150115-dog-bus-train-goat-cat-monkey-animals-commuter. dead. January 20, 2015. 9 February 2017. 16 January 2015.
10. Web site: 'Canuck' the crow skips flying to ride the SkyTrain Globalnews.ca. 2021-12-02. Global News. en-US.