Bus problem

[maxiesmom]

You wouldn't have to think about it, Disney would just put on more buses, No one stands on the ME bus going or coming from the MCO airport, I have never had to wait very long to board.

The ME buses do not have to move as many people as often as the park buses. And I'm right, the sheer mass of the bus makes it safer than a car. Which is why the Disney buses (and public buses) don't have seat belts.

 

[nkereina]

FWIW, the DME bus drivers aren't employed by Disney. They are employed by Mears. Disney contracts with Mears for the DME service - a subcontractor. Therefore, Disney can't be held responsible for poor driving, rudeness, road rage, or any of the like

 

[ParrotBill]

I agree that the quality of WDW bus drivers varies too much. I've been on buses that run red lights, follow too close, speed to much, and seen distracted drivers. I also know that bus drivers is one of the hardest skill set for Disney to fill.

When I retire, I just may go get a bus license...

Beside, I know so much about Disneyworld I could easily tell everyone all the new things coming and secrets just as well as the other bus drivers.

 

[ls3015]

The ME buses do not have to move as many people as often as the park buses. And I'm right, the sheer mass of the bus makes it safer than a car. Which is why the Disney buses (and public buses) don't have seat belts.

My opinion is your wrong, the mass size of a bus is not as safe, I have seen crashes that were not pretty and i have been a bus driver for years and every city owned public dial a ride bus I have seen, do have seat belts installed, they are there for the passenger to use if so desired.
Why are wheel chairs straped down? (Question answer that)
I still would like to see padding put around the poles, even baseball fields now have padding around almost everything.
We are now getting off topic, maybe we should start a new thread.

 

[DisneyGal24]

Hey OP here. We were at HS this evening and saw our driver again. I guess he still has a job. I really did feel bad for him. Anyway, once we got back to the resort we had a lovely little basket of snacks sitting in our room. Seems that Mickey left us some goodies! There wasn't a note but I think it was because of the bus accident. I totally didn't expect that at all. The kids loved the idea of Mickey leaving us something! That's why I love Disney!!

 

[goofy4tink]

It was once said we would never make it to the moon, But we did, and many buses now have seat belts, don't ever think buses are safer, And you have your quote wrong, it is the sheer mass of a bus that makes it unsafe, They don't stop when they hit something, it will keep going till it hits something bigger, I never said I didn't want to stand on the bus, I said Disney should stop the practice.

The vast majority of buses do not have seat belts. Studied have shown them to not be needed. Not sure where your info comes from but if there is an incident between a bus and a car? That bus is coming out of it in much better condition. It's not a case of a runaway bus careening into stuff!!!

You wouldn't have to think about it, Disney would just put on more buses, No one stands on the ME bus going or coming from the MCO airport, I have never had to wait very long to board.

And more buses mean more costs....cost of the actual bus, fuel, maintainence, drivers, etc. No one stands on the DME because it's a tour bus style. It was not designed for standees. The park buses are the same style as public transit....built and designed for standing.
Huge difference between DME waits and park bus waits.

My opinion is your wrong, the mass size of a bus is not as safe, I have seen crashes that were not pretty and i have been a bus driver for years and every city owned public dial a ride bus I have seen, do have seat belts installed, they are there for the passenger to use if so desired.
Why are wheel chairs straped down? (Question answer that)
I still would like to see padding put around the poles, even baseball fields now have padding around almost everything.
We are now getting off topic, maybe we should start a new thread.

Why are wheelchairs and ECVs strapped down? Seriously? Because they are not capable of holding onto something!! Pretty simple. Passengers on buses are capable of holding onto overhead straps and poles.

This is an interesting subject..one that crops up every so often. Does anyone seriously think that Disney and cities/municipalities actually put buses into service that are going to cause injuries? There just aren't that many instances of serious injuries on buses. That's just a fact of life. Yes, there are some. But accidents happen. Me? I would rather be standing on a Disney bus than sitting in a car on Disney property and being in an accident. Those on the bus are substantially better off, even those standing, than those in that car.

I have never, ever had an issue standing on a bus at WDW. And I've been there more often than most people. My biggest concern? Being on a bus that has to stop quickly and being hit by one of those massive double strollers!!! I was on a bus last week, at WDW, that had a huge jogging stroller tied down!! I was amazed that the driver allowed that. That stroller should have been folded up. And no, there was no child that had a special situation using that stroller. Just a family that begged to be able to bring it on the bus as is. Made me somewhat cranky since it then took away three seats!! And that was for park opening, so you know it was a crowded bus.

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

The vast majority of buses do not have seat belts. Studied have shown them to not be needed. Not sure where your info comes from but if there is an incident between a bus and a car? That bus is coming out of it in much better condition. It's not a case of a runaway bus careening into stuff!!!

And more buses mean more costs....cost of the actual bus, fuel, maintainence, drivers, etc. No one stands on the DME because it's a tour bus style. It was not designed for standees. The park buses are the same style as public transit....built and designed for standing.
Huge difference between DME waits and park bus waits.

Why are wheelchairs and ECVs strapped down? Seriously? Because they are not capable of holding onto something!! Pretty simple. Passengers on buses are capable of holding onto overhead straps and poles.

This is an interesting subject..one that crops up every so often. Does anyone seriously think that Disney and cities/municipalities actually put buses into service that are going to cause injuries? There just aren't that many instances of serious injuries on buses. That's just a fact of life. Yes, there are some. But accidents happen. Me? I would rather be standing on a Disney bus than sitting in a car on Disney property and being in an accident. Those on the bus are substantially better off, even those standing, than those in that car.

I have never, ever had an issue standing on a bus at WDW. And I've been there more often than most people. My biggest concern? Being on a bus that has to stop quickly and being hit by one of those massive double strollers!!! I was on a bus last week, at WDW, that had a huge jogging stroller tied down!! I was amazed that the driver allowed that. That stroller should have been folded up. And no, there was no child that had a special situation using that stroller. Just a family that begged to be able to bring it on the bus as is. Made me somewhat cranky since it then took away three seats!! And that was for park opening, so you know it was a crowded bus.

All great points. There is also a difference in design in tour busses that are designed for high speed highway driving, and transit busses that are designed for stop and go driving at slower speeds on city streets.

 

[ls3015]

The vast majority of buses do not have seat belts. Studied have shown them to not be needed. Not sure where your info comes from but if there is an incident between a bus and a car? That bus is coming out of it in much better condition. It's not a case of a runaway bus careening into stuff!!!


And more buses mean more costs....cost of the actual bus, fuel, maintainence, drivers, etc. No one stands on the DME because it's a tour bus style. It was not designed for standees. The park buses are the same style as public transit....built and designed for standing.
Huge difference between DME waits and park bus waits.


Why are wheelchairs and ECVs strapped down? Seriously? Because they are not capable of holding onto something!! Pretty simple. Passengers on buses are capable of holding onto overhead straps and poles
.

Really! 1st : why is it the 1st thing the bus driver does when they get on the bus is (They put on their seat belt). a bus may come out better in an accident with a car, accidents with buses are not always with cars, and the standing people on the bus become projectiles.

2nd cost: Really, what is the price these days on a human life, answer that one. why does It always comes down to money, when lives at at stake who pays. Disney raises prices every year reguardless, so don't worry about costs, standing on public transit have be proven it is very unsafe, but it still proves to be the most efficient way to move vast amonts of people, though still unsafe. Googled it.

3rd really! wheel chairs and ECVs can't hold on, really, Seriously , do you believe this statement, How about the small children that ride these buses that would not be able to hold on in an event of a bad accident, No Disney is running on borrowed time will run out of time before sometime terrible happens that forces a change, cost or no costs,
and once again, if the buses are as safe as some people like to think, than why do the drivers strap on a seat belt the 1st thing, when people within arms reach are left to stand, right behind a huge windshield. Answer that one?

 

[mb187143]

My mother has been with the US Department of transportation for over 30 years. Her major area of oversight for the last 20 of those are the public transit systems in Baltimore, Washington DC, Philadelphia, and New Jersey. According to their statistics, riding a public transit style bus (such as they style Disney employs to move guests around) is over 170 times safer than riding in a passenger car. School buses are 7-10 times safer than passenger vehicles.

Buses are designed to handle crash impacts differently than cars. When struck by a other vehicle, the design of the bus allows the impact to be spread over a MUCH larger surface area than a car.

Second, by the design of the seats, passengers seated on a bus are sitting higher than those in a car, which elevates them from the point of most impacts for other cars on the road.

Finally the weight of the bus gives it a significant advantage in a crash (30,000 pounds compared to 2-3,000) compared to cars.

 

[peel]

That doesn't mean they can't still be bad drivers. When we were at WDW over Memorial Day weekend, we had an awful driver from Pop to MK our first morning there. He kept overcompensating at every stop sign and every time another vehicle pulled in front of us by slamming on the brakes very hard, making the standees (we were a crowded bus) have to kind of hop forward each time to avoid falling over. It was so bad, when we got off at MK my DBF and I agreed if we saw him operating a bus again, we wouldn't board.

I think I've had that driver myself. We said the same thing, that if we saw him again we'd wait for the next bus. I get sick enough on Mission: Space, I don't need to get sick from the bus ride TO Mission: Space.

 

[ls3015]

I think I've had that driver myself. We said the same thing, that if we saw him again we'd wait for the next bus. I get sick enough on Mission: Space, I don't need to get sick from the bus ride TO Mission: Space.

 

[mikedoyleblogger]

All great points. There is also a difference in design in tour busses that are designed for high speed highway driving, and transit busses that are designed for stop and go driving at slower speeds on city streets.

Our transit buses in Chicago that operate on our express routes routinely do highway speeds up and down Lake Shore Drive (a limited access local highway) with no seatbelts and no problem. And these are the same type of articulated bus that WDW will be rolling out. Transit buses--and most coach buses, too--don't have seatbelts because most people wouldn't use them, their use can't be policed since the driver's job is to watch the road, they would be easily subject to vandalism, maintenance and replacement would add significantly to the operational cost over the life of the buses, they would significantly slow boarding times, they won't do anything to secure standees, and as others have said, studies have shown they are not necessary for safety. I used to work in public transit, I've lived in or spent a lot of time in the country's three biggest cities and a lot of time exploring transit in cities beyond the U.S. I have never seen a transit system that uses seat belts, and the only coach with seat belts I've ever seen was the DME/Mears bus that picked us up at the airport in May. I wonder whether repeated concerns over bus safety that pop up here from time to time aren't from people who just aren't familiar with/used to riding public transit. It's really a non-issue in the industry. It's one of those things transit planners (like I used to be) have to explain over and over...along with why monorails are almost always a bad idea unless you're at Disney World.