assistance dog bookings
I've been travelling frequently on the Shepparton VLine service. The Shepparton service, is a reserved service.
I have a 30kg Labrador. Very excellent travel buddy. However, I cannot, no matter how many times I try, get my tickets booked correctly.
If I phone: they have no idea of the assistance animal policy.
If I show up in person to the service desk at Southern Cross... I still have no luck.
The policy from Vline's own accessibility page:
"A seat must be booked for your assistance animal on reserved V/Line services, however they travel for free."
It is pretty simple. Or so I thought. Nope.
I have to explain, every time: "hello. Yes dog. Yes, I have the assistance animal pass. Yes, the dog needs to be allocated a seat - don't worry, the dog doesn't actually sit in the seat, just on the floor in the foot-space. No, the second seat, by vline's policy is free."
I get put on hold. They look it all up. They allocate a second seat.
At which point "can you please make sure both by seats are just in a single row, and not in a block of four - it is harder to not impact other passengers if I am allocated two seats in a block of four".
And... despite the mental energy explaining this every time: I have never once had a booking made correctly. Almost all the time they put me in a block of 4. My last trip I was allocated two seats (and not in a block of 4)... but the two seats were in different rows!
So, every Vline trip I take, I just show up, sit somewhere, and hope other passengers or the conductor can help me get settled even if I am now taking up a seat allocation that belongs to someone else.
I recently made a complaint via Vline's feedback form. And the team member who called me back didn't know what an assistance animal was. And now, I'm reading off VLine's own accessibility page to a team member who was supposed to he handling the complaint who was even more confused than the booking agents I have spoken too.
I just wish vline would add an "assistance animal pass" to the booking section, so that I could just book independently online using the same system as other free travel passes.