Disney Bus Transportation with an ECV - a HORRIBLE experience!

[toocherie]

Sue - or other informed ECV or W/C users.

Can you help us figure out a "procedure" when this kind of thing occurs?
i.e. What to say to the driver, the phone number to call transportation from the cell phone, who to ask for when calling, etc? If we can create a more organized and consistent resonse, it's bound to help (and maybe keep someone like, oh say me, from losing my cool? confused3 )
Thanks

I agree--it would be helpful to have a printout of who to call and what to ask for that we could carry with us.

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

OP, I am sorry you had such a problem. We had a similar problem at FW, because the buses would go to WL first and would be busting at the seems full, so we ended up using our minivan to get around.We won't be staying at FW again.

In December when we stayed at CR, well, we rode to MK, but we wanted to go to DTD one evening and we were the first ones at the bust stop, but many other guests came up while we were waiting for the bus, we had the most amazing driver. When he opened the front door, the crowded headed to go in and he stopped them in their tracks and said he was going to get us loaded first. You should have seen the faces of those people (it was kinda like when Grandma told you your face might freeze that way). Well another bus came up as he was loading us and you should have seen those people run. I just wish all drivers were like that.

In December we were asked every time to transfer to a regular seat and boy did we get those looks again. We were at CR for 2 nights. We moved to AKL and most of the time, we were the only people on the buses. One evening to DTD we had a full bus, but I was talking to another guest and didn't notice what others were doing.

I am quite outspoken, so I won't put up with crap like that. I would have marched (ridden) right in to the front desk and had a nice little talk with the resort manager. It might not have done any good, but it would have made me feel better.

Suzanne

 

[lovetoscrap]

Wow! I am reading all of this with a mix of sadness and anger at what has happened. When I went last fall and there were 2 of us in ECV's at the stop most of the time we didn't have too many problems. There were certainly some bus drivers that were better than others. And one that was so nasty I was almost in tears. Mostly the ones I didn't like were not helpful enough in talking us through parking. It certainly did seem that every bus was different and some were much harder to park in than others. Even though they seem to look alike.

There was also the night that the bus driver allowed the other passengers to get on WHILE we were loading the ECV's. Okay, to be fair he opened the front door and said to them "Please wait" and left the front door open. Yeah, that was effective. In their defense I don't think they spoke English and had no idea what he had just said to them. But if he had CLOSED the door as all the other bus drivers did that would have solved that problem! As my friend Shugardrawers says, we are pretty sure that bunch learned what "Please Wait" means in English, and a few other colorful Phrases as we tried to Park the ECVs while they were streaming onto the bus and trying to push past us. We are not sure they all left the bus with all 10 toes. . .

But I digress.

I am reading these stories and am thinking that if I had been told that it would just take too long to load me that I would probably have pulled my ECV up to the front door (those suckers can move fast when you need them to ) and parked right there. And let the bus driver know I would move when he loaded me, or when he called a supervisor. I know, probably not really the BEST way to deal with this (you can yell at me Sue!) but I am pretty assertive and not really one to sit still and be ignored. I do realize that most people are not as, shall we say, outgoing as I am. But it is sort of the reverse of the bus driver refusing to move unless passengers move out of the seats needed for the ECV/wc.

And I am also really good at ignoing the comments of the "crowd". Walk a mile in my shoes. . . oh wait, you can't because I can't walk a mile, or even more than a few feet.

 

[livndisney]

Oh, yes.
It does say that they must give up their seats, that doesn't mean it's required by law though. The thing about it is that most passengers don't know they can refuse (although, as I posted before, it's not 'popular' for them to refuse).
Here's the seat next to the door (opposite the one that can be raised to make room for wheelchairs) and you can see what the sign says. The seats that make into the wheelchair/ECV spots have the same sign above them.

There is another part someplace that I can't find right now that talks about the bus being 'full' at a stop if no wheelchairs can be loaded because of room or people not moving.

Am I reading this right? If someone with a disability (no ECV) is already on the bus in the seat-they can remain in the seat? (Case were there are no other seats open and the person on the bus already NEEDS to sit for medical reasons).

 

[Figaro]

The one and only time that we reported a bus driver (an incident too long to get into here) we took pictures of the number on the back of the bus, side of the bus and front of the bus with our cell phone camera. My spouse made sure that all of the information was visible on the cell phone screem and that made it extremely easy to give the information to the transportation manager that the people at the resort check-in desk called.

We seldom take the bus at WDW anymore, and it is mostly because of issues with a few (only a few, but recently it has been every single trip), bus drivers. And don't get me started on the monorail people! This last trip, not one single time was there ever anyone available to put the ramp down for me to exit the monorail. Not once.

My spouse ended up just taking me out the door, sans ramp in my wheelchair. He has lots of experience moving me up and down fairly substantial curbs in Mexico, but it was very disheartening to have the monorail people all very pointedly ignore me and my wheelchair even after multiple attempts to try and get their attention and let them know that I wanted to get off. This happened at every single resort stop, the ticket and transportation center and the monorail to Epcot. I used to look forward to the monorail, but this last trip we decided that it was just a miserable experience for us and that we would avoid it if at all possible.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

I have sent my acquaintance this link. This person is a very passionate bus driver who cares a lot about doing things the right way. Hopefully some good will come out of this.

 

[cmwade77]

We are hoping that we won't need an ECV or wheel chair, but we just never know if we will, if we do, here are my ideas on how to handle this:

1. Print out the laws that have been mentioned above requiring the busses to either load the ECV/Wheel Chair or consider the bus full for the stop and use it to show the bus drivers what the laws are that pertain to this matter.
2. Keep a notepad, write down the name, time, bus number and stop of the ones that refused to load the ECV/Wheel Chair
3. Make sure that if you are in line that the other people in line vouch for you being there before them, if that is the case.
4. Go to the front desk of the hotel and tell them what is going on and ask them to do something about it, even if that means that they pay for an accessible taxi to take you to where you are going.
5. If a bus that doesn't work, ask that security come and be present when the next bus comes, sometimes a person in uniform will help.
6. Call the bus dispatch system
7. If they still refuse to load the ECV/Wheel Chair, pull the ECV/Wheel Chair up in such a way that it blocks the entrance to the bus, I know this is a bit drastic, but look at everything that has been done prior to resorting to this.
8. If this still doesn't handle the situation, perhaps it's time to call the police to enforce the laws (non-emergency number of course)

Now this would not make for an enjoyable vacation if I had to resort to all of this all of the time, so I would definitely look at renting a car for the length of stay (or duration if this turns out to be a problem while we are there).

 

[kaytieeldr]

Have some 'secret shopper' type bus riders using wheelchairs and/or ECVs doing secret observations

Ha! I will (and tend to, anyway) do that on a completely voluntary basis!!!

I think the OP's experience stinks. I've gotten better results from Disney Transportation over much less serious issues. Now, granted, I've been to Disney often enough that I'm willing to devote park-touring time to instead presenting and discussing 'issues' Guest Relations.

===

Sue - or other informed ECV or W/C users.

Can you help us figure out a "procedure" when this kind of thing occurs?
i.e. What to say to the driver, the phone number to call transportation from the cell phone, who to ask for when calling, etc?

While I don't have any phone numbers, at a park I simply start by politely but firmly requesting the presence of a Transportation Manager. Whether that's successful or not I follow up with Lobby Concierge or the Front Desk (depending on time of day) at my resort, or in the park if I'm on my way in.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Am I reading this right? If someone with a disability (no ECV) is already on the bus in the seat-they can remain in the seat? (Case were there are no other seats open and the person on the bus already NEEDS to sit for medical reasons).

Yes BUT. The seats that fold so a wheelchair or ECV can be tied down are adjacent to, but not the same ones as, the seats marked with the "please give this seat to an elderly or handicapped passenger" signs.

 

[kaytieeldr]

And don't get me started on the monorail people! This last trip, not one single time was there ever anyone available to put the ramp down for me to exit the monorail. Not once.

But did one eventually show up each time you wanted to exit? See my experience as reported on the 'ever get stuck on the monorail?' thread on the TPA&S board... Oh, never mind. Here goes

Solo traveler using an ECV.
I took the monorail from Epcot to the TTC, and changed over to the Resorts monorail to get to Narcoosee's, allowing plenty of time for the full trip. Good thing...

I boarded the monorail. A CM asked where I was going. He said he would call the GF platform so somebody would be there to let me out.

Stop at the Polynesian. A CM asked where I was going (i.e. was I exiting there). He, too, stated he would call the GF platform...

Stop at the GF. I wait. I expect somebody to show up momentarily. Nope. Doors close and we proceed to Magic Kingdom.

At MK, I quickly explain to a CM what happened - or rather, what didn't happen. Again, the CM stated he would be calling the GF platform to make sure somebody let me out.

Repeat at the Contemporary.

Repeat at the TTC (where the original CM saw me and expressed surprise I was still there).

Repeat at the Poly.

ALMOST repeat at the GF. The only reason anybody showed up with the ramp was other passengers in my car made SURE I was accommodated (especially the ones from the Contemporary who had now heard my experience four times ).

The CM at the Grand Floridian claimed nobody had ever called to let him know there was a Guest expecting to exit the monorail there. Not one CN from any of the six previous stops. Interesting...

 

[Figaro]

Your experience is identical to ours except that even when my spouse stuck his head out the door of the monorail and requested a ramp, no one would bring one over for us. He (my spouse) got disgusted and just backed me down and out the door. This only worked for us because I am not very big and he has lots of practice moving the wheelchair like that.

We just couldn't take the attitudes of the people at the monorail stations and they were starting to affect our enjoyment, so we decided to skip the monorails for the rest of the trip.

 

[MarieS]

If we have a transportation problem, is there a number we can call directly to report a problem? Like for example if we were waiting to leave a park? This will be our first time using the busses. Thanks!

 

[SueM in MN]

OK - Here's what we do.

When we are away from our resort:
DH programs the general number for our resort into his cell phone when we get to the resort. That is the best all-purpose number to have.
From having that, we can call and get transferred to Transportation.
You want to talk to the Transportation Supervisor for that shift (not someone at your resort or at the park, who would have to relay the message); you want to get as close as possible to the person who's job it actually is to take care of problem.
When you talk to the Supervisor have these things ready:

• the station or stop where you had a problem
• where you were traveling from and going to
• the time, as close as possible
• optional, but very helpful
  = bus number and driver's name/description
  = monorail color and name or description of the CM
• a short description of what happened
  (I tend to not be short, but short is really important. If you get too bogged down in details, they may not understand. It's better to be brief and add more information than confuse the CM to start with)
• write some notes about the situation so you can refer to it afterwards if contacted for more information. (it might help to write the notes out before calling to get your short description ready)
• how to reach you for more information - cell phone, hotel, room number, date leaving, etc.

If you are calling from your resort after you get back, there is a button on the room phone labeled "Transportation". Use that.

You should be all set between this and the suggestions other people posted. I especially liked the cell phone picture suggest. We had 2 cell phones with cameras and 2 digital cameras with us when we had our last 'reportable' problem. It didn't occur to us to use the cell phone until later, but having pictures would give a time stamp, no way to argue that you might have had the bus number wrong and would also show things like how full the bus was or how many people were actually waiting. Cell phone pictures can also be easily emailed.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Wow, thanks, Sue!

And Figaro - the only reason I got to exit at the GF the second time around is thanks to one fantastic couple. The woman got a CM to bring over the ramp... while the gentleman stood IN the doorway of the car.

Oh, and while we're taking pictures - having one OF the Cast Member can't hurt, either... (disclaimer to Transportation CMs reading this thread: I'm not suggesting that as a threat, or coercion; it's just a way to be sure the correct CM is identified - in case, for example, there are two Kayties on the monorail platform).

 

[livndisney]

Wow, thanks, Sue!

And Figaro - the only reason I got to exit at the GF the second time around is thanks to one fantastic couple. The woman got a CM to bring over the ramp... while the gentleman stood IN the doorway of the car.

Oh, and while we're taking pictures - having one OF the Cast Member can't hurt, either...

Was this just recently? We just DID this for a woman in an ECV. I went and got a CM while my friend stood in the door.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Nope, last September. You mean it's STILL happening? Sheesh! And my brother is critical because my next trip is ten days long. I figure I'll be spending the equivalent of one full day 'discussing issues' with the appropriate Cast Members...

 

[kimbac3]

And this is why I avoid Disney buses!! Last year was our first year onsite and we drove everywhere! This year (staying off site - rooms are WAY to small on property) I purposely planned our trip around us driving and park hopping...meaning, I'm hoping to avoid park hopping if at all possible.

It's really a shame that we have to go through this. The CM IN the parks are so wonderful!! I hate that I feel like I need to avoid the buses.

Kimba

 

[Vijoge]

We also had a problem with the monorail ramps last September. We finally got to the point that when the monorail stopped DH jumped out immediately and got the ramp himself. A couple of times a CM told him he couldn't do that but DH just said "If I don't we'll be riding around on this thing all day."

 

[Vijoge]

Another problem I had with the buses was whether to back on or drive on.

I know the lift buses require that you back on due to weight distribution on the lift.

The ramp buses are another story. I had drivers tell me to back on, drivers who told me to pull on, drivers who said it doesn't matter, and one driver who said backing on is mandatory and anyone who said otherwise is not following procedure! He was nasty about it, too!

Make up my mind for me, will ya?

 

[kaytieeldr]

Thanks for reminding me! I have trouble twisting around enough to be able to see where I'm going. I can parallel park (efficiently!) once on the bus because I look straight down and use the floor as my guide. Two years ago, I had no problem driving forward onto the lift, because I had a Transportation Supervisor's name who the drivers could contact if there was an issue. Last year, she'd left Some drivers still let me drive forward, but when I couldn't, it took me a LOT longer to get on the bus. Fortunately, there were many helpfully impatient Guests around, helping to direct me.