They can now travel on KSRTC buses (some conditions apply) with their pets – including dogs, cats, rabbits!

This reminded me of the time I had to transport my cat from Mumbai to Bangalore. It had turned out to be a rather frustrating experience as airlines in India are not good with handling pets. Either they refuse them on board, or they don’t know what to do with them!

I had quite a nightmarish experience with Indian Airlines, which actually says it allows small caged pets in the cabin, but when I reached the airport, none of the officials seemed aware of what to do with it! Or what the process was for pets in the cabin. Anyway, in the end it did turn out well (after a last minute plea to the captain about 5 minutes before take off!) and I did manage to get the cat on board with me.

I am not sure how she will take to bus travel, but I am sure some travellers would like to take their pets along with them on a holiday! This is a very accepted and frequent practice overseas – but the Indian system – whether it is hotels or transport – is not pet friendly.

So it was quite nice to read this news about pets being allowed on board buses. There are some conditions of course, like one dog only per bus (we don’t want dog fights!) and only on non-airconditioned buses. Dogs will be charged on adult rates and cats/rabbits etc. on child fare.

You can read the news here.