Sound Transit is piloting an updated pet policy on its buses and trains between now and Spring 2027. During the pilot, pet dogs will be permitted on board if they are leashed, well-behaved, and controlled by their handler. All other pets must remain in an enclosed carrier. As always, service animals are permitted in compliance with the ADA.
Prior to the pilot, dogs and other pets were only allowed on Sound Transit buses and trains in a carrier. In July 2025, the Sound Transit Board approved Motion No. M2025-34, directing the agency to consider updating the rules to allow leashed dogs. This motion was motivated by the opening of Marymoor Village station as part of the Downtown Redmond Link Extension in May 2025. Marymoor Village station is next to Marymoor Park, a 640-arce park which includes a 40-arce off-leash dog area.
Will this pilot impact the passenger experience on Sound Transit? Probably not. In a presentation to the Executive Committee before the motion was approved, then-Acting Executive Director of Security & Fare Engagement Brian de Place acknowledged that passengers already take leashed dogs on Sound Transit buses and trains. While doing so did violate the rules, de Place noted “if the dog is leashed and generally under control, security will not engage with that passenger unless there is an actual disturbance”. In the year prior to this meeting, Sound Transit security only received 8 calls about pets.
There are few other notes pet owners should be aware of before bringing their leashed dogs onboard:
- Handlers are responsible for controlling and cleaning up after your pet.
- Pets may not block seating or passenger movement.
- Pet travel is not guaranteed. Sound Transit staff may restrict pet travel when safety, sanitation, or overcrowding concerns exist.
- Violation of this policy may result in a code of conduct violation or response from Sound Transit Police.
If you encounter an aggressive animal or other issues, call or text Sound Transit security: (206) 398-5268. In an emergency, call 911.
Honestly, it’s a big surprise to me that (well-behaved) dogs haven’t always been allowed. That always been the policy for KCM and other local agencies right? We’ve taken our dog on the train (and ST Express) dozens of times and nobody has ever said anything. Nor have I ever seen signs indicating this isn’t okay.
The one thing they should work on is reminding people not to have their dogs on escalators.
Dogs on leashes have been on Metro for decades. It never occurred to me that Sound Transit might have a different policy. I didn’t see dogs on ST buses or trains, but I put that down to the nature of the routes rather than less demand.
I started riding Metro in 1979. I don’t remember dogs on board for the first several years. My last dog passed away a few years later, but he always went on foot or in a car, whereas I rode the bus individually to my own things, so I’ve never taken a dog on a bus. I don’t remember whether dogs started appearing on Metro at some point, or when that might have been.
Interesting. I’ve been on Link many times with my pup. No one has ever said anything. I always thought the policy was the same as King County Metro. Dogs on the bus and train always brighten my day.
The main problem with a pet-in-carrier rule is that, when you ride anywhere on public transit, you have nowhere to leave stuff, which means, in order to comply with the rules, you must lug your carrier around everywhere you go after getting off the transit, for the entire trip. To provide an extreme example, a resident of the U district wanting to take their dog up Mt. Si via Trailhead Direct would be expected to haul their carrier all the way up and down the mountain, just for a 6-minute train ride to the bus (or, take the slower #70 bus, instead of Link to avoid doing this).
I take my dog walking around Seattle a lot, and often use public transit to allow the walk to start and end in different places. Needing a carrier would make this far more difficult. Note that my dog is small enough that I can carry him in my arms if the bus or train is crowded, and he is very well behaved.
I think a carrier requirement is fine for long distance services like airplanes or Amtrak, but requiring it for basic public transit mobility around a city is effectively telling ever pet owner that they need to get a car. (And, or course, once they have the car, they are going to be driving it nearly everywhere, whether carrying the pet or not).
It doesn’t seem that hard to lock up a carrier to a tree or a post if you are hiking. If you are shopping you can put the carrier in your shopping cart. There are carriers that also work as backpacks and aren’t that hard to carry around.
“It doesn’t seem that hard to lock up a carrier to a tree or a post if you are hiking.”
The issue isn’t the physical difficulty of locking it up, it’s that you’re not supposed to lock it up. Except for locking bikes to bike racks, you can’t just lock up your personal property to any random tree or post. Especially if you’re in the city, rather than our on a hiking trail. And, of course, if it rains, the interior of the carrier will get soaked.
If you an actual, non-inbred dog such as mine, it’s going to be 50+ pounds. That is not feasible to put in a carrier and carry around.
Indeed its not! Carriers are really only feasible for smaller animals.
Ain’t no one is gonna put their pet in a carrier unless it needs to be in one, such as a cat. And those who put them in a carrier already know how to handle the logistics.
The fact that ST made a semi-big deal about their “change” in policy indicates how policy-makers are ineptly out of touch with the reality of riding. People have been freely bringing their pets on board for YEARS. Metro’s policy is so outdated, technically you’re supposed to pay for your animal’s fare. ST should’ve just quietly updated their website and that’s it. It reminds me of how much $$$ and manpower they used to install the “Fare Required” signage at stations… as if fare evaders are going to stop right there and not enter.
Bus Doggy Dogg had an ORCA card strapped to the top of his collar. Of course, he couldn’t bring it up to the reader, or understand he’s supposed to do it, and no human did in the video clips.
What is the fare for an animal on Metro?
Dogs have had to pay ever since Metro started its animal well-fare policy.
(Sorry.)
Kudos for the joke, Peter. I laughed, but then I’ve drinking.
My dog has never paid, but he sits on my lap and does not take up a seat.
Good joke!
But in all seriousness, how much do people have to pay for animals to ride Metro? Their policy on this, which follows, doesn’t make it clear. It only identifies which animals aren’t subject to fares.
Service animals
Service animals for persons with disabilities can ride Metro for free.
Service animals must remain on their owner’s lap or on the floor, without blocking the aisle. If this is not an option, the service animal may occupy a seat if one is available.
Pets
Small dogs that stay on their owner’s lap can ride for free. Fare for all other dogs must be paid.
Pets other than dogs are not allowed on Metro unless they are in a carrier. Fare is not required.
Mmm, if you convert dog years then they should be eligible for a Senior Reduced Fare ORCA card if they’re 9 years or older, right?
By that logic, they should be.
Asdf2’s point about the carrier is the one that lands for me. I have skipped a train rather than wrestle a carrier through a crowded car, and a leashed dog that can sit under a seat is a different trip entirely. The test will be the evening runs, when the cars are quieter but the wait is longer — if a dog is calm then, the pilot is probably working. I am less worried about the policy itself than about people treating the aisle as extra storage, which is already a problem without animals involved.
“In the year prior to this meeting, Sound Transit security only received 8 calls about pets.”
This is somewhat hard for me to believe. Are they differentiating between calls and texts? I have personally reported (by text) multiple aggressive or unleashed dogs on the train in the past year, including one that led to a physical altercation between passengers. Maybe I just have bad luck, or unrealistically high standards for the appropriate behavior I expect from dogs on crowded trains. Or does everyone else just tolerate misbehaving dogs?
Your standards don’t strike me as being unrealistic. They strike me as being perfectly reasonable. Dogs should be on a leash when out in public, including on trains. The only exception is at off leash dog parks. All dogs need to kept under control by their owners, and that goes double for aggressive dogs. And dog owners must clean up after their dogs.
It is totally reasonable to expect that people keep their dogs under control. I just think most people around here can’t be bothered to do anything about it.
Personally, I have never seen an unleashed dog on transit, or even a dog that was bothering other passengers. I have experienced some crazy, annoying behavior from other passengers, but I never made a complaint to Metro about it. All of my compaints have been about late or cancelled buses.
I have observed that more dogs are being allowed to roam off-leash in our local and state parks, even when they aren’t supposed to be. This has been particularly true at Penrose Point State Park on the Key Peninsula.
It’s also true in a lot of Seattle parks. What really gets to me is unleashed dogs on playfields, where Seattle doesn’t allow even leashed ones.
Yes, the dogs on Metro are well-behaved. They’re actually an example for the human passengers.
I think a lot of people just put up with a lot of crap, figuring that reporting it is useless.
Apparently Eclipse the (fare evading?) dog who became internet famous for riding Metro to the Belltown dog park solo died in 2022
https://www.npr.org/2022/10/16/1129328505/eclipse-seattle-bus-riding-dog-park-dead
https://www.npr.org/2022/10/16/1129328505/eclipse-seattle-bus-riding-dog-park-dead
https://komonews.com/news/local/seattle-dogs-rush-hour-ride-on-the-bus-by-herself-weekly-11-21-2015#
I always took my dogs in a leash simply because I know they don’t enforce fares so they would never enforce any pet rules. And I was right about everything. Never had anyone say a thing.