diff --git a/transport.c b/transport.c
index 0a5cf0a9c2..74fa9eef28 100644
--- a/transport.c
+++ b/transport.c
@@ -693,7 +693,8 @@ static int is_local(const char *url)
 {
 	const char *colon = strchr(url, ':');
 	const char *slash = strchr(url, '/');
-	return !colon || (slash && slash < colon);
+	return !colon || (slash && slash < colon) ||
+		has_dos_drive_prefix(url);
 }
 
 static int is_file(const char *url)