Guide dogs get freedom to roam

Blind woman Chen Xin takes the Metro yesterday with her guide dog. — Xinhua

The city government yesterday issued a new regulation allowing blind people to take their guide dogs on public transport and inside public buildings.

The move is designed to make the city more accessible to people with visual impairments, it said.

While the regulation, which comes under the law on the protection of disabled persons, is new, its content has been around for three years. In 2011, the city adopted its first law governing the keeping of dogs, which says guide dogs must be allowed on buses and inside all public venues, such as cinemas, hospitals, Metro stations and restaurants.

The clause however has not been widely acknowledged by the public and blind people with dogs have complained of being refused access to certain places.

On buses, drivers generally allow guide dogs on board but are sometimes overruled by other passengers, an employee of local bus company Shanghai Bashi Group said.

"But now that the new regulation has been introduced, we will firmly implement it," he said.

"And if any passengers complain, our drivers will tell them that the dogs are allowed on by law," he said.