Animal Party calls for pets to be allowed on all buses

Pets should be allowed on public transport, the Animal Party said on Tuesday, urging the relevant ministry to issue detailed directions to private public transport companies.

“It is important to allow animals on buses,” party leader Kyriakos Kyriakou told the Cyprus Mail. He explained that those who do not drive or do not have a car face difficulties when they need to take their pets to the vet.

“The ideal scenario is what is happening in other countries. Dogs are on a leash with all their paperwork, while bigger dogs need to wear a mouth cover. Pets are only allowed on public transport for small distances and not to change towns,” he said.

The party leader said that Cyprus does not have clear instructions whether it allows pets on buses and under which conditions.

“We called the transport ministry and they didn’t know. There was a big confusion.”

The state has to deal with multiple private companies in charge of the public transport of different towns, and it appears each has its own regulations on the matter.

A lady was recently forbidden to board the bus with her small dog, while a different bus driver had in the past allowed them to ride, said Kyriakou.

“We are trying to form some regulations. Different companies can’t do what they want.”

According to the party, the transport ministry is responsible for regulating the companies with which they have contracts and approve their regulations regarding allowing pets on public transport.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.