Sydney loves to boast of its cafe culture, but only Leichhardt’s Cafe Bones makes it accessible to those on four legs. Situated in the middle of Hawthorne Canal Reserve, a large park in the city’s affluent inner west, its menu extends beyond flat whites and friands to lactose-free “puppaccinos” and “dogaccinos” – the low-fat alternative “for the health-conscious pup”.

Now in its 18th year, Cafe Bones bills itself as the world’s first dog-friendly cafe. Its regulars – a large, freewheeling tornado of dogs and their close-knit community of owners – lend it a happily chaotic atmosphere that is all the more distinctive for its rarity. As an unabashedly dog-friendly environment, it is a haven in a city whose government is far more hostile to pet ownership than its residents are.

Sitting at a table with Bessie, a 16-month-old Rhodesian ridgeback, at her feet, Jacqui laments the difficulties of owning a dog in a place that seems designed for it, with many central parks, beaches for swimming, and weather that lends itself to spending time outdoors.



More than two million dog-related car trips are made in Sydney each week. Photograph: Brendon Thorne/Getty Images

“To get anywhere in a car in Sydney is ridiculous, but because I can’t take her on public transport I just drive everywhere,” she says.

A recent University of Sydney study suggests Jacqui is far from alone in her frustration. Surveying more than 1,250 Sydney dog owners, researchers Jennifer Kent and Corinne Mulley found 2.4m dog-related car trips were made in the city every week, exacerbating overcrowded traffic conditions and low rates of public transport use.

People told some sad stories​​: times when their dog had a seizure and they had to carry it a kilometre to the vet Jennifer Kent

Like many aspects of living in Sydney, they found, dog ownership was a “relatively car-dependent affair” – a reality that many owners accepted reluctantly. In total, 95% of those surveyed said they were in favour of allowing dogs on buses and trains, with one in five saying it would likely be enough for them to get rid of their cars altogether.

Matt Roden and his partner bought a car shortly after bringing home their first dog, Pete. He says that while he would rather not own a car in the inner city, having one opened up new options as a pet owner.



“I’m a big fan of public transport and like to use it when possible,” Roden says. “But as soon as we got a car, it was pretty clear how much easier it was with Pete. We could drive him to bigger, better parks in Sydney, to the beach, and to the emergency vet.

“I’d love to be able to take Pete on the bus or train. I’d definitely use it over driving everywhere.”

Q&A What is Australian cities week? Show Guardian Cities is dedicating a week to exploring the opportunities and challenges of Australia's rapidly growing cities. The nation of nearly 25 million has one of the fastest-rising populations of all OECD countries, overwhelmingly focused on its biggest cities: Sydney and Melbourne. But with car dependence, urban sprawl and unaffordable housing threatening their famed "liveability", are they ready for the challenge? Canberra, Adelaide, Perth, Hobart, Darwin and Brisbane face similar issues, while nationwide, poor indigenous consultation is a growing urban issue. Australian Cities Week, a collaboration with Guardian Australia, seeks to reveal and celebrate the culture, architecture, wildlife and character that bolster these cities' reputations as unique and desirable places to live.

Letting dogs on trains won’t solve the Sydney car crisis – it’s far too gone for that. But Kent and Mulley argued the restriction was symbolic of the ways the city forces people into car ownership, even as it tries to reduce its dependency on private vehicles. Like Sydney’s “war on cyclists”,it speaks to a culture where the car is king.

Comparing public transport policies on pets in 30 cities around the world, they found that dogs were welcome on trains and buses in all European cities, and using public transport was more the norm. In the US and Australia, dogs were confined to private cars, which are more dominant in both cultures. That made life more difficult, both for dog owners and people without access to a car.



“People responding to the survey told us some really sad stories: times when their dog was having a seizure or needed medical attention and they had to carry it a kilometre up the road to the vet, when they could have caught the bus outside their house,” Kent says. “So much of what we do in our society is so car-dependent here in Sydney. If you don’t have a car, you really have no choice.”

#SydneyTrains view at 7.30pm, no trains have arrived and crowding is becoming dangerous. No updates on trains to Beverly Hills. Absolutely ridiculous. Government should be ashamed. Sydney cannot be a world city with these issues. pic.twitter.com/mPi9ketr4g — Chloe Alyce (@_chloealyce) January 9, 2018

It is no wonder that the city is nearing breaking point over traffic. A 2016 report by Austroads found Sydney had seven of the 10 most congested roads in Australia and New Zealand, an average road network speed slower than New York’s and San Francisco’s, and a peak hour speed of just 29km per hour.

In an effort to reduce congestion, the New South Wales state government has allowed private operators to reintroduce tolls – an approach that has had the opposite effect, pushing motorists to abandon toll roads and squeeze on to already congested suburban side streets instead.

But given Sydney’s slow and unreliable patchwork of public transport, sitting in traffic is the only option many people have. In a city that regularly sweats through summer heatwaves, the city’s train network frequently breaks down in hot weather, and many older train carriages do not have air conditioning. In January, train drivers went on strike to protest against overworking, arguing that longer hours and fewer breaks were causing exhaustion and could increase accidents. Barely half of Sydney’s 307 train stations are accessible by wheelchair.

One way of increasing uptake of public transport would be making the network more reflective of how people actually want to use it, rather than how government believes it should be used. As Kent and Mulley note, Australian city planners and policymakers have a tendency to regard public transport as supplementary to car travel, as though people only need to use trains, buses and trams for “predictable and ‘clean’ trips, such as the journey to work”.

“In reality, our lives are made up of messy trips, and to reduce car dependence we need to plan for this mess.”

One survey found that 95% of respondents were in favour of allowing dogs on buses and trains. Photograph: Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images

There are moves being made in the right direction. An upswing in cycling commutes has prompted property developers and inner-city local governments to provide more infrastructure support for cyclists. A new light rail line is set to open in the central business district in 2019, and a proposed $8.3bn Sydney Metro line, billed by the state government as “Australia’s biggest public transport project”, is under way as well.

But they pale in comparison to WestConnex, a gargantuan $16.8bn toll road development that the state government is persisting with in spite of budget and timetable blowouts and public opposition. Sydney is also due to construct as many as 10 new toll road networks in the coming years. It is a global outlier, as cities around the world dismantle freeway overpasses and pursue ambitious public transport projects, such as London’s upcoming Crossrail.

A stone’s throw from Cafe Bones lies a stop on the inner west’s new light rail line. It is modern, clean and user-friendly ‒ except for anyone hoping to take their canine companion out for the day. Patting Bessie under the table, Jacqui is unimpressed.

“I don’t get it,” she says. “I’ve seen humans do far more gross things on public transport than dogs would.”

In collaboration with Guardian Australia, Guardian Cities is devoting a week to Australian cities. Share your thoughts with Guardian Cities on Twitter, Facebookand Instagram using the hashtag #AusWk