France · Regional bus rules
Can my dog travel on Rémi coaches in Centre-Val de Loire?
Checked · Official source ↗
No. Rémi coaches only take animals under 10 kg.
What this means for you: Don’t count on a Rémi coach to get you between towns here — either way, you’re choosing places with a station. Tours is the good news: since September 2025 a dog too big for your lap rides the tram and bus on a lead and muzzle with a ticket. Orléans is carrier only.
The rule, line by line
What Rémi coaches actually say.
- Who gets on
- Small dogs under 10 kg, cats and birds — in a properly closed basket, a well-wrapped cage, or on your lap. Free. The test is weight; a small dog doesn’t need a carrier.
- Who doesn’t
- “Animals of 10 kg or more are forbidden on the coaches.” That’s the whole sentence.
- How much
- Free for an animal under 10 kg.
- Where they ride
- On your lap, or in the basket or cage, without dirtying anything or bothering anyone.
- Never, whatever the size
- Category 1 and 2 dogs, reptiles, insects and exotic pets.
- Where this applies
- Centre-Val de Loire — regional coaches. City buses are below. Double-check who actually runs your service.
- Assistance dogs
- Assistance dogs with specific training, accompanying a disability-card holder, ride free in their specific harness.
City buses are a different story (sometimes)
Dogs on city buses in Tours and Orléans
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. 1 of the 2 networks I could verify take a big dog on a lead and muzzle.
Where a big dog rides the city bus — on a lead and muzzled
There is one network where the idea is the same: lead, off the seats, and you clean up. Muzzles and fares vary, so read the row.
Small animals in a closed basket, bag or cage on your lap ride free. “If the animal can’t fit on your lap, you pay a ticket, and it must be on a lead with a muzzle.” Regulation of 29 September 2025.
Where it’s carrier only
One network. A dog that fits in a closed bag or basket on your lap rides. A dog on a lead doesn’t, however calm.
Only guide and assistance dogs (one per passenger) and small pets “properly shut in and held on your lap”.
TAO’s pages didn’t show me the wording directly; this is the consistent published account. Ask before you rely on it.
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.