A Detroit bus driver is facing internal review after two horses were walked through a city bus during an unauthorized stunt that went viral online.
Ellessia Drew, who filmed the incident, told WXYZ she was near 7 Mile and Strasburg Street last Saturday when she spotted the animals approaching the Detroit Department of Transportation vehicle. She pulled out her phone as handlers guided the stallions toward the lowered front ramp.
“I was thinking, like, ‘Oh my God, what about the people on the bus? What if the horse used the bathroom on the bus?” Drew said in her interview with the station. “Like, what’s going on?”
The footage shows one horse initially resisting boarding until its handler tapped the ramp to signal the driver to raise it. Both animals then trotted through the aisle and exited out the rear door moments later.
Jordan Williams, co-founder of Urban City Cowboys, later identified himself as the organizer. He told WXYZ the stunt came together spontaneously after a fundraiser where children received horseback rides.
“It wasn’t like I was tracking down the bus,” Williams said. “The point is just to bring light to… like there are cowboys that look like us.”
Williams claimed he has taken his horses on several DDOT buses over the years and spoke with the driver before boarding. He listed multiple routes in his interview with the station.
“We’ve been on the Jefferson, we’ve been on the Chalmers, we’ve been on the Conners and now on the 7 Mile,” he said.
The transportation department issued a statement to WXYZ acknowledging the incident and condemning the unauthorized ride-along. Officials said they 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 clarified its service animal rules in the same statement, noting that approved animals must remain under control by a person with disabilities, cannot occupy seats, and must sit on the floor or on the person’s lap. The policy effectively excludes horses from bus travel.
Williams maintained the stunt was meant as harmless fun to highlight urban equestrian culture. He expressed hope that officials would view the incident with the same lightheartedness as online audiences.
“I hope DDOT looks at it like a joke like everyone else, and hopefully they come out to a rodeo,” he said.
The video has accumulated hundreds of thousands of views across social media platforms since Saturday.