“Direct Threat” means a significant risk of substantial harm to the health and safety of other individuals.

“Person with a Disability” means an individual who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities of the individual; an individual with a record of such impairment; or being regarded as having such an impairment.

“User/Owner” means an individual with a disability who requires assistance with one or more daily life activities from a service animal, or service animals.

“Service Animal” means any dog, or other animal individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of a qualified individual with a disability, including psychiatric, cognitive or mental disabilities. Possible tasks that service animals may perform include but are not limited to, guiding individuals who are blind or have low vision, alerting individuals who are deaf or hearing impaired to the presence of people or sounds, pulling a wheelchair, fetching dropped items, assisting an individual during a seizure, retrieving medicine or alerting the individual to a telephone call, providing physical support to assist with balance and stability to individuals with mobility disabilities and assisting individuals including those with cognitive disabilities with navigation. A service animal is not a pet or a comfort animal.

STANDARDS:

• The user/owner boarding a VITRAN vehicle with a service animal may not be charged an extra fee for the service animal. 
• The user/owner must be in control of the service animal(s) at all times.
• The service animal(s) must be appropriately trained and be able to perform its tasks for the benefit of the user/owner.
• There is no specific requirement about how to board a service animal onto the bus or paratransit vehicle. The bus operator, or paratransit operator should ask the user/owner how he/she would like to board with his/her service animal(s), and follow the requested procedures, if appropriate, and reasonable. An operator may call Dispatch for assistance.
• Users/owners with service animals may not be required to sit in a specified area.
• As long as they are not blocking aisles or exits or interfering with other passengers entering, exiting or riding VITRAN vehicles, service animals may sit or lie:

a. At their user/owner’s feet, under the seat;

b. Directly beside their user/owner’s mobility aid (e.g., wheelchair, walker, scooter);

c. Between their user/owner’s knees;

d. On their user/owner’s lap; or

e. In some type of pouch or carrier.

• Service Animals are not permitted to ride in or on VITRAN bus seats or paratransit vehicle seats.
• If other passengers are afraid of animals, or have severe allergies, that does not supersede the rights of the user/owner to utilize VITRAN’s transportation services with a service animal. Those other riders may be permitted to pay their fare, and then board via whichever door of the bus allows him/her access away from the service animal or they can wait for the next bus. If separation in the vehicle is not possible to avoid these issues, the operator will contact Dispatch for instructions.
• A service animal may be prohibited from VITRAN facilities and from riding on VITRAN fixed route and/or paratransit vehicles if the animal poses a direct threat to the health or safety of the user/owner, other passengers, or VITRAN employees; or demonstrates aggressive behavior towards other passengers or other service animals; or disrupts the VITRAN driver from safely performing his/her duties.
• VITRAN will not exclude a particular service animal based solely on experience with other similar type service animals, or on an unreasonable fear that is not related to the service animal’s actual behavior.
• Other passengers or members of the public are not permitted to touch, or interfere in any way with a service animal without the consent of the user/owner.
• Any person including a person with a disability or a user/owner who does not comply with this policy and its procedures will be asked to disembark the fixed route bus, paratransit vehicle, or will be asked to leave the transit facility. VITRAN operators are required to contact Dispatch for instructions before requiring any individual to alight from the vehicle or vacate a facility.
• Customers accompanied by service animals are expected to promptly clean up after their animals whenever necessary and without being requested.
• VITRAN personnel are prohibited from taking service animals’ leashes or harnesses, assuming responsibility for an animal, or interfering with the duties of service animals in any way.