Detroit Responds After Horses Board Public Bus

DETROIT — Detroit is planning to retrain its bus drivers after a two horses were recently seen boarding a DDOT public bus in the city.

"While DDOT welcomes service animals to ride the bus when they meet the requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), it appears that these horses were brought on the bus for other reasons," Detroit Department of Transportation officials said in a statement.

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Officials added the incident presented safety concerns for passengers and the horses themselves.

Officials said they have identified the bus driver, but didn't release any further details.

The bizarre viral video showed the bus driver maneuvering a wheelchair-accessible ramp to allow multiple people to bring two horses onto the bus.

The horses were loaded onto the bus before exiting just seconds later through the back of the bus. One of the horses looked distressed.

Surveillance footage posted to social media showed multiple angles of the incident.

"If he can get in here, it is what it is," the chuckling bus driver said. "Hey, you want me to let them in?"

The bus driver is heard saying "service animal" a few times as the horses walk through the bus before promptly exiting through a side door near the back.

The incident happened along 7 Mile Road near Strasburg Street on Detroit's east side.

The horses' owner, Jordan Williams, co-founder of Urban City Cowboys, told WXYZ he was in Detroit helping with a fundraiser and giving children horseback rides when he spotted the DDOT bus approaching a stop.

"We've been on the Jefferson, we've been on the Chalmers, we've been on the Conners and now on the 7 Mile," Williams told the news station. "So we did, we walked on, and I must tell you the buses are a lot smaller than they used to be, or I may have been a little bigger."

He added his goal was to highlight Black cowboys and their presence in Detroit.