Pets aren't people, they belong in the baggage car.
Bona fide service animals are most definitely not PETS.
Unfortunately, as with most things, some selfish arrogant people find ways to circumvent the laws regarding accommodating service animals, via brazenly bogus "certification", or baldfaced lying.
And no, "emotional support animals" don't count. Otherwise just about every pet would meet that vague definition.
Well said. That somes up my feelings as well. I'm all in favor of being able to travel with your critters; be they furry, finned, or scaly. However, they are not people. Pets belong in a climate controlled baggage car and bonafide service animals (which again are working, and not pets) belong with their human. I will go so far as to say, that even traveling with pets in a baggage car, make the passengers responsible for their care. On LD routes, this means access for walking, feeding, etc. And yes, it is reasonable to think an additional fee is appropriate.
As an alternative, if you want to bring a pet, you cannot travel in coach and you are responsible for keeping the animal in the roomette/bedroom and the condition of said space.
Lastly, I agree that this trial seems too limited to obtain truly pertinent data. Oddly enough, I also think places with the heaviest pax volumes (like the NEC) may be the worst routes to effectively gather data. Something in between seems like a beter alternative.