Any Taxis for People with ECVs?

[MulanMom]

We've decided not to rent a car our next trip because we are staying onsite and we'll be using buses alot due to DH's ECV. We rationalized that if we needed to get somewhere on property quickly, we could always call a cab. There are a few situations where we need to travel resort to resort but then will need the ECV to continue on to a park, or someplace requiring substantial walking. Are there taxi vans that can transport an ECV in a situation like this?

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide!

 

[kaytieeldr]

Yep. They contract with Mears, but you can also call these people directly:
Nadya 321-695-2711
Alexander 321-695-2643
Both business cards ask that you call 30 minutes in advance, and both numbers are cell phones.

 

[MulanMom]

Thank you, kaytieeldr! Do you have any experience with them? Have you been pleased with their service? How is their cost compared to regular taxis?

TIA!

 

[kaytieeldr]

Yes, I got the business cards from Nadya (they're married, by the way )
Service was really good. I was staying (close your eyes, purists) offsite for the first few days of a trip last January, at a hotel that offered free transportation to Disney and Universal. Because I had the ECV, I knew I had to let them know ahead of time that I'd need transportation that can accommodate it. The person at the transportation company never arranged it I was left waiting at the bus stop, so the hotel called Mears and Nadya showed up. She had a van and I was able to ride the ECV right up the ramp into the back, where she strapped me in well.
While I didn't have to pay - the hotel did, and would get reimbursed - she had the meter on and it was about $38 from Old Town in Kissimmee to Universal. We arranged for her to pick me up a half hour after those parks closed.

 

[MulanMom]

I'm sorry to hear that happened to you....how aggravating! But $38 from Old Town to Universal doesn't sound too bad. Maybe I'll call Nadya and Alexander and get some sample rates from them.

I've been curious as to how it would be with a full-time ECV and staying off property. The ECVs can be broken down and stored in the trunk of a car, but unless it's our own, we don't feel comfortable doing that. We have actually been staying off-property quite a bit in spite of being DVC owners and were in the process of selling our DVC when DH's need for an ECV arose. We've decided to hang onto DVC and stay onsite for the ease of use of the buses. Now the money we used to spend for renting a car goes towards renting the ECV!;-)

Thanks for your help!

Sharon

 

[Andrew Bichard]

I ride a wheelchair and 'drive from wheelchair' vans are expensive to rent so I too use handicap taxis to get around offsite.

I have found in the past that the Mears despatcher will promise your taxi is 'on the way' and will be with you in twenty minutes, but it never arrives.

I was told by a taxi driver that did eventually arrive that the problem is that there are a limited number of handicap taxis in Orlando. Every taxi driver is on the road for park opening and park closing, but many drivers rest at home in the middle of the day with the result that there might be only two or three handicap taxis on the road during the middle of the day.

You might do better to call up a driver direct on his cellphone as kaytieeldr suggests.

I have another three names to try:

'Vin' on 407-414-2522 he drives a van (Winstar I think) with ramp at the back and fold down rear seats for wheelchair or ECV.

'Khan's Trans' 407-973-4499. Wheelchair van as above. He has several regular wheelchair clients, so phone day before to check if he is available.

'Jack' (Cab#653) 321-961-3662. Name given to me by someone else on this board, but I have never used him.

Andrew

 

[MulanMom]

Thanks, Andrew, for sharing your taxi drivers.

Another question for you and Kaytieeldr...when you've ridden in these vans, how many passengers could accompany you? We would have my DH, myself, and our two children, 6 & 8. I'm wondering if we would all fit?

TIA!

 

[kaytieeldr]

Honestly, I don't know. It was just me in my taxi, and as Andrew said, they did have to fold down seats so the ECV would fit.

 

[Andrew Bichard]

All the wheelchair taxis I have ridden in have been minivan style with driver & one passenger up front, then a fold down bench seat in the rear for three passengers. In all but one of my rides, the driver has folded the back seat to get me in.

I ride a power wheelchair which is shorter than most ECVs and on one ride, the driver chose not to fold the back seat.

However, Mears bus company has (had? - last time I used them was two years ago) small buses (maybe you would call them big vans) that would carry a wheelchair/ECV and half a dozen sitting passengers. These are the ones that Mears uses between the airport, resorts and theme parks.

Also Lynx, Orlando's public transport busses are all wheelchair acessible, though you would have to make a very tight turn for an ECV at the top of the lift.

Andrew

 

[SueM in MN]

The majority of wheelchair adapted vans are Chrysler minivans (I don't know specifically what any of those that are listed in this thread are, but the largest number of wheelchair vans total are Chrysler ones). Adapted vans usually have space for the wheelchair in the middle of the van, with 2 separate seats in the front and a bench that can hold up to 3 people in the very rear. Our own wheelchair van can hold 3 in the rear seat, but it's really only comfortable for 2 (because the wheelchair is pretty close in front of the rear seat).

 

[Andrew Bichard]

My own van at home is exactly as SueM in MN has described. It's a Chrysler Grand Voyager (Dodge Grand Caravan with different badges). It differs from the Orlando taxis in one important respect. Mine is side entry, with the middle row of seats removed, so I enter behind the front seats, but in front of the three seater rear bench.

All the Orlando wheelchair taxis I have ridden in have been rear entry with only two rows of seats, driver & one passenger up front with a folding three seater bench behind. There was quite a lot of space behind the folding bench, so maybe a third row of seats at the very back had been removed.

MulanMom should talk to the driver when she books the taxi. If DH can get out of the scooter and ride up front, with MulanMom and two children behind, the scooter wouldn't need to be tied down and might well fit behind the rear seat without folding it.

This is a taxi I took from Boardwalk to Publix to go shopping, and is typical of all other taxis I have used in offsite trips from WDW.



Andrew

 

[SueM in MN]

All the Orlando wheelchair taxis I have ridden in have been rear entry with only two rows of seats, driver & one passenger up front with a folding three seater bench behind. There was quite a lot of space behind the folding bench, so maybe a third row of seats at the very back had been removed.Andrew

We had looked at one of the rear entry vans before we bought a new one.
The one we looked at driver and passenger seats in the front. In the middle was a space for wheelchair tiedown. Way in the back, there was a bench seat that folded up to make a passage for the wheelchair to get in and down for passengers to sit on it. Set up that way, it would hold a total of 4 plus the person with a wheelchair. Another option was to have 1- 2 captains chairs set up in the middle area next to the wheelchair. That would seat up to 7 total (including the wheelchair), but it limits the space for the wheelchair to fit.
Here's a website with pictures of a rear entry van inside.

 

[MulanMom]

Andrew, thanks for posting a photo and Sue, thanks for posting a link. We've seen modified van advertisements in DH's Quest magazine (through MDA), but never have actually seen the interior of one. Fortunately, DH is ambulatory but cannot do far distances. And if his braces break, those distances are greatly shortened!!! With so few taxi vans available, I almost feel guilty using the service.

Sincere thanks for responding to my question of how many can fit. Sounds like we can all squeeze in!

 

[Andrew Bichard]

With so few taxi vans available, I almost feel guilty using the service.

Use it, or lose it!

The more demand there is for wheelchair taxis, the more taxi firms will buy them!

Andrew

 

[MulanMom]

Use it, or lose it!

The more demand there is for wheelchair taxis, the more taxi firms will buy them!

Andrew

I like that philosophy!!! I will gladly do my part to let them know they are in demand!

 

[Andrew Bichard]

I'm bumping this thread to find out if anyone has used wheelchair taxis recently.

I will be at WDW in less than three weeks and want to know if wheelchair taxis are any easier to find than they were when I visited last year.

This coming trip I hope to spend one or two days at Seaworld (Mears?) one day shopping at a mall and maybe a day at Winter Park.

Taxis would be most convenient but wheelchair taxis are few & far between. Mears and Lynx go to Seaworld. How best to get to a Mall other than Lynx to Seaworld then I-Ride trolley?

Do Mears go as far out as Winter Park?

I have contact names & numbers of a few drivers with wheelchair taxis as a fall-back.

Any other ideas?

Are wheelchair taxis more plentiful than last year?

Andrew

 

[Edd]

Andrew.

Give Doug Richey a call 407-928-5927. He drives for Dans Trans which is a company exclusively with wheel chair vehicles. You can find Richey listed at Taxi-MCO.com and click on the first subtitle Handicapped wheel chair vehicles. .

He will work with you more on an individual basis than most companies. Doug used to work with Mears, and drove their handicapped vehicles, but has his own vehicles now.

 

[Andrew Bichard]

Andrew.

Give Doug Richey a call

Thanks for the contact name. I have emailed him and await his reply.

Andrew