Detroit transit officials looking into 'unsafe' incident where 2 horses boarded public bus

Video shows two people leading the saddled horses onto the bus.

The Details

Footage taken by Ellessia Drew shows two men leading a pair of horses onto a city bus before exiting through the rear doors.

• By
• Meredith Deliso
• Friday, November 13, 2026 7:33PM
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Transit officials in Detroit said they are looking into a recent incident in which two horses were captured on video briefly boarding a public bus.

The Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT) said in a statement Tuesday that it is "aware of a recent incident where two horses were allowed to walk through a bus as it was pulled over at a bus stop."

Video of the incident shows two people leading two saddled horses onto the bus while it was pulled over at the stop, then exiting from the rear doors several seconds later.

"We are taking appropriate steps to address this incident as it is not consistent with DDOT policy and potentially creates an unsafe and uncomfortable ride for our passengers," DDOT said.

The incident occurred Saturday along 7 Mile East near Strasburg Street.

Ellessia Drew was driving down 7 Mile when she stopped to film the incident.

"I was thinking, like, 'Oh my God, like what about the people on the bus? What if the horse used the bathroom on the bus? Like, what's going on?'" Drew told ABC Detroit affiliate WXYZ.

The animals' owner, Jordan Williams, with the group Urban City Cowboys, told WXYZ that he has brought horses on Detroit buses before.

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He said he had been at an event giving children horseback rides on Saturday. When he saw the bus pull up, he said he asked the driver if he could take his "service animal" on board for a video, with the goal of highlighting Black cowboys in Detroit.

"The point is just to bring light to the city that there are cowboys that look like us," Williams told WXYZ.

According to Williams, there were two or three passengers on the bus at the time and nobody got hurt.

"I hope DDOT looks at it as a joke like everyone else, and hopefully maybe come out to a rodeo," Williams told WXYZ.

DDOT noted that only service animals are allowed on buses and "must be under control by the person with disabilities at all times, must not occupy a seat, and must either sit on the floor, or on the person's lap."

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