Frustrated Guests

[wilkeliza]

I think you missed the part where dispatch selects the route when a bus arrives at the park. Sure, they could map all the buses, but there'd be no way to tell which on is "yours". The bus you think you're waiting for could be rerouted at any time. And that would have the inverse affect on guest satisfaction.

Disney buses don't run on a schedule or fixed route. If they did, then they'd be subject to all kinds of expensive and onerous federal regulations which would seem inappropriate for a privately-operated system.

They could still have something. In this day and age it is odd to have to have buses check into a depo. With pretty accurate GPS they could just radio buses. Heck I know truck drivers that rely on a dispatch and they just radio in when they drop their load and dispatch sends the where to go. Based on the fact most bus drivers know what they are picking up and droping off before they get to their next stop I don't buy the every bus checks in at a central location thing.

 

[Woodview]

My oh My What a lot of Moaners .

Well done to Ken for giving a good insight on Disney Transportation Busses ....
Is he believed ,,,, not by some .

Think .. The Drivers drive a bus full of people from A to B &

gets them there safely & some of you complain that you had to wait extra time.

Well done to Ken & his fellow Drivers

 

[supersnoop]

I'm not buying any of this for a second. They have a complex routing system but can't get the busses to their locations or know where they are or when they will arrive? Sounds like they are creating a lot of unnecessary overhead. U don't think there are huge variables in city traffic? Disney absolutely could have set routes and they should have enough statistical data to know when/where they will hit delays and extra volume.

Federal law would require them to provide on-demand para-transit service if they had set routes, among other expensive requirements.

Watch the bus time estimates on the screens at the resorts. You'll frequently see the times change as buses get rerouted.

Frankly, there's little reason to provide time estimates outside of the resort bus stops. It can only reduce guest satisfaction by setting false expectations.

 

[wilkeliza]

Federal law would require them to provide on-demand para-transit service if they had set routes, among other expensive requirements.

Watch the bus time estimates on the screens at the resorts. You'll frequently see the times change as buses get rerouted.

Frankly, there's little reason to provide time estimates outside of the resort bus stops. It can only reduce guest satisfaction by setting false expectations.

I thought those laws only came into effect when it is public transportation. Disney's vehicles are still considered private property and transportation. There are many local hotels that run shuttles on a set schedule that don't have on demand paratransport.

 

[supersnoop]

I thought those laws only came into effect when it is public transportation. Disney's vehicles are still considered private property and transportation. There are many local hotels that run shuttles on a set schedule that don't have on demand paratransport.

"Specified public transportation means transportation by bus, rail, or any other conveyance (other than aircraft) provided by a private entity to the general public, with general or special service (including charter service) on a regular and continuing basis."

Disney provides service to the general public, while hotels are limited to their own guests.

 

[wilkeliza]

"Specified public transportation means transportation by bus, rail, or any other conveyance (other than aircraft) provided by a private entity to the general public, with general or special service (including charter service) on a regular and continuing basis."

Disney provides service to the general public, while hotels are limited to their own guests.

Disney could argue they provide to guest of the Walt Disney World resort. They don't provide public transportation as you either have to be staying at their resort or paying for parking at their theme park. The buses are still considered resort shuttles. It isn't like they go off Disney property you can't take it to the doctor or wal-mart.

 

[LoverDisney]

Thanks for all that you do!

 

[MillauFr]

"Specified public transportation means transportation by bus, rail, or any other conveyance (other than aircraft) provided by a private entity to the general public, with general or special service (including charter service) on a regular and continuing basis."

Disney provides service to the general public, while hotels are limited to their own guests.

Disney provides express transit service to the general public on fixed routes. Why don't they have to provide paratransit?

 

[Lesley Wake]

How do the express buses operate that travel between the parks? Aren't they on a fixed route and schedule?

Express buses appear to be a totally different system than the regular buses. It seems like there are 2 buses at all times that go on each route-e.g., 11:30 is the scheduled time for the bus from MK to Epcot, and vice versa. So Bus 1 will leave MK for Epcot at that time and at the same time, Bus 2 will leave Epcot for MK. Then at 12:00, they reverse the route, with Bus 2 leaving MK and Bus 1 leaving Epcot. Continue all day even if there are no guests riding that particular route at that particular time.

Regular buses would be adjusted based on guest usage at that particular time. When the driver is approaching MK from a resort they don't know where they are going next; they could be dispatched right back to that resort, or sent to another resort, or even sent to another park entirely.

 

[MillauFr]

Express buses appear to be a totally different system than the regular buses. It seems like there are 2 buses at all times that go on each route-e.g., 11:30 is the scheduled time for the bus from MK to Epcot, and vice versa. So Bus 1 will leave MK for Epcot at that time and at the same time, Bus 2 will leave Epcot for MK. Then at 12:00, they reverse the route, with Bus 2 leaving MK and Bus 1 leaving Epcot. Continue all day even if there are no guests riding that particular route at that particular time.

Regular buses would be adjusted based on guest usage at that particular time. When the driver is approaching MK from a resort they don't know where they are going next; they could be dispatched right back to that resort, or sent to another resort, or even sent to another park entirely.

That sound just like our transit system here in Seattle. Not sure now someone could claim the Disney bus system is not similar to a bus system in a typical city.

 

[goofy4tink]

This is why I could NEVER have a job where I have to interact with the public. Stagehand for me and it's bad enough that I have to deal with actors....

I hate it when I see people blaming the bus driver. I always make it a point to thank you folks as I get off the bus. I can't imagine how difficult the dispatch job is but I can imagine how easy it is to make a mistake that then backs things up. I gotta say that 98% of my experiences with the busses have been terrific. And the 2% has always been because of "guests". On all my trips I can only remember one time where I thought the driver was out of line.

Thanks for this thread!

Decent actors will realize that they don't get to the stage without that backstage help!
I've had pretty much the same bus experiences!

How do the express buses operate that travel between the parks? Aren't they on a fixed route and schedule?

Yes, they are. But, they run very differently. They carry about 1% of the load the regular buses do. They travel shorter distances. They leave promptly at a set time. Sure, it would be great if the resort to park buses ran like that. But, can you just imagine what would happen if you're standing in a bus line, at Pop, heading to MK. You are about 35 or so people back. There's an ecv and a wheelchair to load, not to mention those families that get to the bus and then fold up their behemoth strollers. But then the driver says 'sorry, gotta go' and closes the door? That's what will happen. That's how those express buses can run in a set schedule. I've stood at a bus stop for 10 mins, waiting for an inept guest try to load their ecv and then those with strollers.
Yes, it would be terrific if the buses could be counted on to arrive at specific times, but that's just the way it works. We can complain all we want, but until Disney decides that it makes financial sense to change the bus system, it isn't going to change.
If waiting for buses is going to cause undue angst, it might be worth renting a car!

 

[KrazeeK120]

Disney could argue they provide to guest of the Walt Disney World resort. They don't provide public transportation as you either have to be staying at their resort or paying for parking at their theme park. The buses are still considered resort shuttles. It isn't like they go off Disney property you can't take it to the doctor or wal-mart.

While it's true that they won't take you off property, it's not at all true that you have to be staying on property or paying for parking. I imagine the vast majority of people who use the transit system fall into one of those 2 categories, but it is absolutely not a requirement.

 

[huskies90]

This thread has gotten a bit off topic. So first, let me thank Ken and the rest of the bus drivers for all you do. People are on vacation and should not stress about waiting 30 minutes for free transportation. If timing is that important, rent a car, take a cab or Uber/Lyft.

Now back to the GPS. I am still not buying the federal regulations and how they fit with Disney. I googled what was posted above and only saw ADA compliance info and from what I skimmed quickly, Disney already complies with all the ADA requirements. But I am not an expert so there may be more I am missing. But either way, I don't believe that Disney's transport system is the same as a city system with fixed and published schedules. Even if they did go to "fixed routes" they would not have to necessarily publish a schedule to the public. It would only be to better predict times/manage times. And frankly, they don't have to abandon their current routing system if that works better. They can still track on GPS to its location once the bus gets routed from it's hub. Until it gets routed, it would just not show on the app.

 

[joelkfla]

A long time ago, Disney buses did run on fixed schedules with buses on assigned routes. Management decided it would be more efficient, from both service and financial standpoints, to run on a demand-based system. Unfortunately, they greatly underestimated the complexity. Now, after many years of development and tinkering, we have the current system. Whether it's better or worse than the fixed route system is a open to debate.

 

[cranbiz]

Fixed routes were before my time. Before MIM's (when I was driving), it was manual dispatch from a coordinator at the hub you were assigned. I always thought that worked decently as you could call into your coordinator and let them know if there was an issue and a bus could then be dispatched.

Now, with full implementation of MIM's, that is not as easy as it used to be.

I still want to go back driving when I finally retire, it was one of the best jobs I ever had.