France · Regional bus rules
Can my dog travel on Hauts-de-France mobilités coaches in Hauts-de-France?
Checked · Official source ↗
No. Hauts-de-France mobilités coaches only take animals under 10 kg.
What this means for you: Don’t count on a regional coach to get you between towns here — either way, you’re choosing places with a station. In town it’s carrier-only almost everywhere: Lille, Boulogne and the rest. The one opening is Valenciennes, where a dog too big for a carrier rides the tram.
The rule, line by line
What Hauts-de-France mobilités coaches actually say.
- Who gets on
- Small animals in a basket or bag on your lap — “under 10 kg, properly shut in” on Trans’80; “small” on Arc-en-Ciel. Free.
- Who doesn’t
- A dog on a lead, whatever its size. “All other animals, including category 1 and 2 dogs, are refused.”
- How much
- Free for an animal in a basket.
- Where they ride
- On your lap, in the basket or bag.
- Never, whatever the size
- Category 1 and 2 dogs, and exotic pets, banned outright.
- Where this applies
- Hauts-de-France — regional coaches. City buses are below. Double-check who actually runs your service.
- Assistance dogs
- Guide and assistance dogs ride free — in a harness on Trans’80; on a lead and muzzled on Arc-en-Ciel.
City buses are a different story (sometimes)
Dogs on city buses in Valenciennes, Lille and Boulogne-sur-Mer
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 3 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.
“Dogs whose size doesn’t allow transport in a closed container are admitted only on the tramway.” On the buses: guide dogs, small animals in a basket, and muzzled guard dogs.
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 in agencies, interchanges and vehicles.” Exceptions: assistance and guide dogs on a lead, and small pets in a properly closed basket, bag or cage.
Pets in a basket and guide dogs. That’s the list.
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.