Written Reply to Parliamentary Question on Pilot Study on Allowing Pets on Public Transport

Dr Tan Yia Swam asked the Minister for Transport whether the Ministry will consider having a pilot study on allowing pets onto public transport with appropriate safeguards and taking into account public safety, to have pets in the last carriage of a MRT train and selected buses or to have them on leash or in carrier bags.

Reply by Minister for Transport S Iswaran:

1.     There are safety, hygiene, allergy, and noise concerns from allowing pets on public transport, which cannot be fully mitigated even if pets are on leash or in carrier bags. Setting aside train carriages and buses for pets will also reduce public transport capacity and inconvenience commuters who have concerns over travelling with animals.

2.     Notwithstanding this, we allow trained guide dogs on public transport as they are critical for some commuters with visual impairment to travel independently on public transport.