France · Regional bus rules
Can my dog travel on Mobigo coaches in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté?
Checked · Official source ↗
No. Your dog has to fit in a closed carrier.
What this means for you: Don’t count on a Mobigo coach to get you between towns here — either way, you’re choosing places with a station. And the two big cities don’t help: Dijon and Besançon are both carrier only, tram and bus. This is a train-and-walk region for a big dog.
The rule, line by line
What Mobigo coaches actually say.
- Who gets on
- Small pets, properly shut in a carrier. Free.
- Who doesn’t
- A dog on a lead, whatever its size. The regulation starts from a ban and lists two exceptions.
- How much
- Free for the two exceptions.
- Where they ride
- In the carrier, with you.
- Never, whatever the size
- Exotic pets and category 1 dogs are named as banned outright.
- Where this applies
- Bourgogne-Franche-Comté — regional coaches. City buses are below. Double-check who actually runs your service.
- Assistance dogs
- Guide dogs and assistance dogs for any disability, with recognised training, ride free.
City buses are a different story (sometimes)
Dogs on city buses in Dijon and Besançon
Regional coaches are one rule; the buses inside each town are another, set by the town’s own operator, and I read each one in the French. 0 of the 2 networks I could verify take a big dog on a lead and muzzle.
Where it’s carrier only
Two networks. A dog that fits in a closed bag or basket on your lap rides. A dog on a lead doesn’t, however calm.
“Animals are forbidden across the whole Divia network, with exceptions”: guide dogs on a lead, and small pets in a properly closed basket, bag, pushchair or cage on your lap. Article 7.1.
“Only assistance dogs of people holding the mobility-inclusion card are accepted. Small animals are tolerated in a travel bag.”
Checked 13 September 2026. Local rules change more often than the area rule — recheck the week you travel.
Your next step
So what do you do instead?
Three alternatives, in the order I’d try them.
- Choose a location that’s serviced by a train.Ideally a station in the town itself, not a railhead half an hour out. Look at the walk from platform to front door before you book — a dot on the map isn’t the same as an easy last connection with a big dog.
- Walk it.Under about 3 km on a proper path, walking usually beats the alternatives — and it’s the one option nobody can refuse you.
- Book a taxi, an Uber, or a private car service.Check they take dogs, and book before you go. Turning up at a rank with a 30 kg dog and no arrangement is where these trips actually fall apart.