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Horse on public bus
You never know what you’re going to encounter when you take a ride on public transportation. Some people in Detroit recently got a wild surprise, as the city has launched an investigation after a couple of guys were filmed leading two full-grown horses onto a bus.
Virtually every major city in the United States offers some form of public transportation that’s designed to ensure every person has access to reasonably priced travel options to get them where they need to go.
The nature of those services means they tend to serve as a great unifier and ferry people from all walks of life, and if you’ve spent enough time on subways or buses in sizable metropolitan areas, you’ve likely encountered some unexpected and unusual situations during your travels.
Those surprises tend to fall on a shenanigans spectrum that ranges from “Cruel and Tragic” to “Cheeky and Fun,” and one man in Detroit says he was trying to land toward the latter after ending up at the center of an investigation involving a couple of horses who accompanied him on a ride.
The Detroit Department of Transportation is looking into an incident involving an “urban cowboy” who brought horses on a public bus
Earlier this week, we were treated to a viral video that came out of Detroit after a woman named Ellessia Drew filmed two men stepping onto a public bus near 7 Mile and Strasburg Street on November 7th with two horses that were also allowed to accompany them on the vehicle.
According to WXYZ, the recording came to the attention of the Detroit Department of Transportation, which was forced to clarify that horses are not allowed on its buses in a statement, saying:
“DDOT is aware of a recent incident where two horses were allowed to walk through a bus as it was pulled over at a bus stop. We are taking appropriate steps to address this incident as it is not consistent with DDOT policy and potentially creates an unsafe and uncomfortable ride for our passengers.
In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, service animals are allowed on buses. Service animals means any guide dog, signal dog, or other animal individually trained to work or perform tasks for an individual with a disability. Service animals must be under control by the person with disabilities at all times, must not occupy a seat, and must either sit on the floor, or on the person’s lap.”
The outlet spoke with one of the men at the center of the incident: Jordan Williams, the co-founder of Urban City Cowboys, an organization that aims to “highlight Black cowboys and their presence in Detroit.”
Williams said he was in the area after taking part in a fundraiser where kids had the chance to ride the horses, and decided to pull what he positioned as a lighthearted stunt when he spotted the bus near a stop. He said he simply filmed himself walking the horses onto the bus before leading them back off, and noted it wasn’t the first time he’d boarded a bus with at least one of them.
However, the good times may be coming to an end now that he’s attracted the ire of the DDOT.