Edmontonian says he was denied access on public transit because of his service dog

Riley Fuchs can’t get through the day without the help of his service dog, Indie. The 20-year-old Edmontonian has severe PTSD and says before he got Indie two and a half years ago, he was always anxious and rarely left the house.

“Because of her, I’ve been able to travel abroad. I’ve been able to go to university. I’ve been able to do all sorts of things and get my life back,” explained Fuchs.

“She helps me by alerting before things get bad and helping me calm back down so I can function.”

Fuchs says he was waiting for the Valley LRT with his service dog here at the Millbourne/Woodvale stop when he heard the driver announce there were “no dogs allowed.”

Fuchs told CityNews the driver refused to open the door and didn’t pick up any passengers from the station.

“I was like very confused and just shocked overall. I didn’t understand what was happening right away. Thankfully the person next to me was very kind and like waved me first onto the next train.”

But in a statement to CityNews, Edmonton Transit said that the company that runs the Valley Line LRT, TransEd, “conducted an internal review and that the train in question was out of service as it was undergoing testing for its navigation system. This testing resulted in the train’s external screens displaying ‘Downtown’ rather than ‘Out of Service.’ Since this train was not transporting riders at this time, the operator made an announcement advising all riders waiting on the platform that this train was out of service. The next in-service train was only a short distance behind.”

The statement added, “The city strives to ensure all riders feel welcome and safe in ETS vehicles and facilities.” Adding their drivers undergo extensive training.

Riely says it happened Thursday on the east side of 66th Street, north of 38th Avenue.

“About 20 other passengers were on the platform waiting for the train. A train labelled 102 Street came up and the driver loudly announced that your dog is not allowed on transit, proceeded and not opened the door, stopped, and then left,” explained Fuchs.

Under the Alberta Service Dogs Act, individuals with service dogs are allowed to access all public spaces, including transit, with their dogs. Fuchs said his German shepherd had an Alberta dog identification card and that he was wearing a vest that said ‘service dog’.

“They didn’t give me the opportunity to show my ID.”

Fuchs’ mother has filed an incident report to the Alberta Service Dog team, Fuchs said he’s sharing his story in hopes of raising awareness.

“The city needs to be accessible. This is how I live my life. This is how I’m independent and I can’t do it without her.”