Trainers Fu Mingyan (L) and Jiang Boya gear up guide dogs for training in Dalian, northeast China's Liaoning Province, April 23, 2021.Photo:Xinhua

Beijing will soon officially allow visually disabled people to take guide dogs on public transport, according to a new regulation.

Passed on September 24, the Regulation of Beijing Municipality on the Construction of Barrier-Free Environments will take effect from November 1.

According to the regulation, individuals with visual impairment must be allowed to take their guide dogs into public places or public transport facilities, as long as they possess visual disability certificates and guide dog permits. 

Those who stop visually impaired people with legal certificates from using public facilities will be ordered to make corrections, or will receive a disciplinary warning and a notice of criticism, the regulation added. 

Although the Beijing rail transit operation safety regulations, which came into effect in 2015, allow visually impaired people to bring guide dogs on subways, cases of guide dogs being barred from public transport have happened, triggering public controversy. Many netizens have called for wider approval of guide dogs in public places.

According to the Beijing government, the construction of barrier-free environments matters in guaranteeing that disabled and senior citizens can equally enjoy the fruits of social and economic development. It is also important for successfully holding the Beijing Winter Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.

Beijing implemented the Regulation of Beijing Municipality on Construction and Management of Barrier-Free Facilities, China's first local regulation for barrier-free construction, in 2004. It played an indispensable role in ensuring the successful holding of the 2008 Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The new regulation has won public support, with many netizens expressing approval.

In 2017, a passenger with a guide dog that did not have a muzzle was refused entry to a Beijing Subway station, CGTN reported.