Photo by eflon

The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Houston, Texas (“Metro” or “MTA”) operates bus lines, express bus lines, and light rail in Harris County. The city plans extensions to the light rail lines and the addition of a commuter rail system. The consensus appears to be that cars are still a necessity in Houston, but there’s hope for the future — and the public transportation that exists is clean and pleasant.

Metro’s pet policy is as follows: “Customers can carry a pet on the bus and the Rail as long as it is caged properly.”

Other regional public transit providers

Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown is a ten-county area collectively referred to as “Greater Houston.” Cars are the preferred means of travel in this area, but there are a couple of public transit systems to tell you about. Please let me know about others I’ve missed! (As always, when I don’t give you a link to the pet policy, I found out about it in a phone conversation.)

Fort Bend County operates a commuter bus service called TREK Express, which connects Sugar Land with “the Greenway Plaza and Galleria areas of Houston.” Only service dogs are allowed on board.

Galveston’s Island Transit operates bus and trolley services in the city of Galveston. Trolley services have been suspended because of damage suffered to the system in Hurricane Ike, but the bus system is still in operation. Small dogs in carriers are allowed on board.

For other posts about traveling with dogs on public transit, take a look at Dog Jaunt’s handy guide!