Contact who? (ME issue)

[maxiesmom]

Does someone know who I can write/call with regards to a concern about ME? We had a problem with the busses on the way back to the airport. We did not have a regular ME bus, nor did we have a cruise line bus. We had one that had Expedition Everest all over the side. I'm wondering if that is why the driver did not have any kind of scanner to log who was actually getting on the bus? Anyway, I am wondering if the strange bus/lack of scanner is what caused our bus to be over-full, and led to people standing in the aisles on the way back to the airport. I couldn't believe the driver actually let people stand for that ride! I thought it was a major no-no.

Add to that the fact that the driver was making us play games with him in order for the bus to move. First, we all had to say abra-kadabra in order for him to pull up close enough for the gates to raise up in order to leave/get in to the other resorts. Then he stopped the bus and shut the air off because we did not have "happy happy faces". I heard comments from some of the other passengers that they felt we were being held hostage on the bus. I was never so happy to get off a bus in my life. Someone else asked him to turn the video on, and he claimed not to have it, even though the mickey wings were spinning around on the tv screens.

Our trip on ME from the airport to our resort was great! But the trip back was a total nightmare. Is there someone I can contact to let them know this man is out there being a menace, and annoying their guests?

 

[Edd]

The bus with Expedition Everest is a Mears bus and probably used on the cruise lines and the ME runs. It is just layered with the advertising. The busses do not have scanners on them. The scanners are hand held scanners and you will see them being used by Mears personnel in a Mears DME uniform at the airport. The scanners do not go with the bus. I watched four ME busses load or unload this afternoon at CBR none of the drivers used anything that resembled a scanner, one bus was a old cruise line, another bus a new cruise line, a DME bus and a yellow and black Mears. The lady driving the first cruise line bus hollered out to the crowd she was a DME bus.


The driver probably did not keep track of the seats available or or was taking extra people because they were running late and might miss their plane. I actually saw the lady driver load a family of five that had missed their other bus. The only thing the driver said when the lady asked if they could ride was, "Yes, I have availability, you can ride."

The only thing you can do is call Mears Transportation and tell them what happened. You should know the date, time and describe the bus, as I think there is only one that has that advertisement on it. They should be able to find the driver and will take appropriate action.

 

[maxiesmom]

I thought they were supposed to have scanners because the driver was pretending to scan our ME booklets with his nose. Complete with beeping sound. If they do not try to keep track of who is getting on what bus, it is no wonder they have busses that are too full.

The only other time I have used ME the bus on the way back to the airport was almost the site of a riot, because they had more people waiting to get on than they had seats for. Way more people waiting to get on. The people trying to get on were screaming and yelling, and it was pretty scary for a while. And I can't really blame them for being mad. I would have been too.

If this is typical of how Disney runs ME, if they don't keep track of or don't care who gets on the busses, then I guess I will have to go back to using a car. I would be furious if I couldn't get on the right bus because it was already full, and there is no way I would stand on that bus. It is just not safe!

 

[bavaria]

Scanning with his nose, making the passengers say magic words, and insisting that people put on their happy face??!!!

I would have walked off the bus, taken an taxi, and billed it back to Mears. What a joke!

you have far more patience than I....

 

[localdriver]

Does someone know who I can write/call with regards to a concern about ME? We had a problem with the busses on the way back to the airport. We did not have a regular ME bus, nor did we have a cruise line bus. We had one that had Expedition Everest all over the side. I'm wondering if that is why the driver did not have any kind of scanner to log who was actually getting on the bus? Anyway, I am wondering if the strange bus/lack of scanner is what caused our bus to be over-full, and led to people standing in the aisles on the way back to the airport. I couldn't believe the driver actually let people stand for that ride! I thought it was a major no-no.

Add to that the fact that the driver was making us play games with him in order for the bus to move. First, we all had to say abra-kadabra in order for him to pull up close enough for the gates to raise up in order to leave/get in to the other resorts. Then he stopped the bus and shut the air off because we did not have "happy happy faces". I heard comments from some of the other passengers that they felt we were being held hostage on the bus. I was never so happy to get off a bus in my life. Someone else asked him to turn the video on, and he claimed not to have it, even though the mickey wings were spinning around on the tv screens.

Our trip on ME from the airport to our resort was great! But the trip back was a total nightmare. Is there someone I can contact to let them know this man is out there being a menace, and annoying their guests?

You need to do the following:

Write a letter to Mears, report the DATE, TIME, BUS#, and the DRIVERS NAME(if possible) and the events that took place in as much detail as possible.

Write to:

Jimmy Mears
324 W. Gore St
Orlando FL. 32801

Mears does not tolerate such nonsense.

The bus overfilled because the driver wasn't counting. Standing to the airport is not acceptable.

Vouchers are collected, not scanned upon departure.

Playing ridiculous games are not acceptable as well.

Jimmy Mears is the man to write to.

I'm sorry you had such a bad experience. That is extremely irritating to those of us that try to do it right!

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

Scanning with his nose, making the passengers say magic words, and insisting that people put on their happy face??!!!

I would have walked off the bus, taken an taxi, and billed it back to Mears. What a joke!

you have far more patience than I....

LOL I agree.

At any rate......... vouchers only get scanned at the airport. When boarding the bus to go back, they get collected.

DME can use any Mears motorcoach. They can be a DME coach, a DCL coach, a Mears Motorcoaches coach, a plain white coach, and the Disney advertisement coaches. They're all Van Hool C2045 motorcoaches, they all have the exact same interior, same amount of seats, the only difference being maybe the pattern of the fabric on the seats. And to be honest, the older C2045s (non-DME/DCL) will give you a smoother ride and more comfy seats.

As for the video... as far as I know, the wrapped coaches only have VHS players and not DVD players as the DME coaches have. It's very well possible that the driver only had the inbound VHS tape and not the outbound tape.

As for the overloading, that is completely unacceptable. Mears has a very strict policy against this. My guess is that drivers do this to increase thier chance of tips, not realize it actually DECREASES the chance of a tip.

I hate to turn a fellow driver in, but there's no excuse for compromising safety. Definetly, DO report this to Mears.

 

[bavaria]

In case I came off as cranky, I'm not (well, ok, I'm a LITTLE cranky!) I take the bus quite frequently. To me the role of a driver is to transport guests safely to their destination, not to be a full time entertainer.

I frequently take 'Airport Bus' (the Disneyland bus) from LAX and the VEA Navette (Disneyland Paris bus) from CDG. Neither offers 'live entertainment' on board nor do I expect it from them.

I DON'T take the bus at WDW as I usually rent a car; this experience is just one more reason while I will continue to rent!!!

 

[seashoreCM]

Somehow I would have gone ahead and stood on a ME bus, having ridden countless crowded buses and subway trains in my life. Regular park buses operate at similar speeds under similar conditions (on freeways).

Many ME guests, until educated to the contrary, feel ultra safe (even if annoyed by lack of seats) once they are on the ME bus so they will be back to the airport punctually and so they won't miss their plane.

So it is up to the driver to enforce the no-standee rule by not driving off.

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

I think there's a big difference between a transit bus going 45mph for 2-5 minutes with rails to hold on to and a motorcoach going 65mph for 25 minutes with nothing really to hold on to.

 

[localdriver]

The Disney Wrapped coaches are used exclusively for DME and are NOW equipped with the the GPS activated video. The old DCL paint scheme coaches, Black and Yellow Mears coaches are NOT and will not be equipped as I understand it.

 

[CleveRocks]

Somehow I would have gone ahead and stood on a ME bus, having ridden countless crowded buses and subway trains in my life. Regular park buses operate at similar speeds under similar conditions (on freeways).

Many ME guests, until educated to the contrary, feel ultra safe (even if annoyed by lack of seats) once they are on the ME bus so they will be back to the airport punctually and so they won't miss their plane.

So it is up to the driver to enforce the no-standee rule by not driving off.

I agree with Tyler. I grew up taking city buses, and took inter-city (Greyhound) buses a lot in college. Handholds are essential for standees, even for "cool" city kids like me who have better sea legs than most sailors (as a teen, it was a source of pride to be able to stand on the bus or El or subway without holding on).

I couldn't imagine standing on a Greyhound bus, and I can't imagine standing on a DME bus. I have no (safety) problem with standing on a Disney Transport bus because of the many handholds.

That DME driver really screwed up, and the standees had to be suburban or rural folks who just didn't know any better.

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

The Disney Wrapped coaches are used exclusively for DME and are NOW equipped with the the GPS activated video. The old DCL paint scheme coaches, Black and Yellow Mears coaches are NOT and will not be equipped as I understand it.

Good to know. Thanks!

 

[budbeerlady]

Sorry you had such a wierd expierince. We saw that bus leaving Pop and wondered what it was for. I would defianetly be irritated too, the kids might laugh but I wouldnt be laughing about it.