Have you ever not been picked up by a bus with a wheelchair?

[Bete]

About five years back, a bus driver pretended not to see us and he started to load the bus and then he apologized to us about it and saying once the bus takes the regular line he can't do it. I think he saw us, but he didn't want to do it for whatever reasons. Maybe, he was behind schedule or whatever, but I was annoyed. I waved at the bus driver before he parked; because, it was one of the first times I used a wheelchair there. I knew he wasn't getting to the back of the bus; so, I knew I was in trouble. This was at POP and I don't see how the driver could have missed us.

Besides the double bus issue that prevents wheelchairs from boarding the second bus has this happened to you? Do you feel it was done on purpose?

This is one of my concerns staying at a resort without a line for a wheelchair.

 

[aubriee]

I can't find it now, but I started a thread a couple of years ago, where we went most of the week, with the bus drivers either ignoring us or telling us that their ramps weren't working. This happened repeatedly at PORS that week, but also at BW, Epcot, and DTD. My mom swore that after that trip she'd never go back. I know one evening we got to the bus stop well over an hour early to go to MNSSHP, but were still late because three different buses in a row said their ramps were not working. We finally got on the fourth bus, but only because I lost my temper and demanded she be put on. At first the driver tried to say there were too many people waiting and we'd have to wait for a fourth bus, at which point I lost it and informed the bus driver that we had already sat through three other buses where the drivers said their lifts didn't work and since he didn't have another ECV on board and had not said the ramp wasn't working, she was getting on that bus or no one else was because I wasn't moving. He was pissed, but finally got up and lowered the ramp for her.

 

[dclfun]

Yes, it's happened to us before at the resorts a few times and I had even made eye contact with the drivers before they pulled up. Very disappointing and frustrating.---Kathy

 

[bidnow5]

Happened to us once I got upset and stood in front of the bus and told them to either load the scooter or call the police I wasn't moving. The driver loaded the scooter there were no scooters or wheelchairs on the bus at all

 

[Bete]

Happened to us once I got upset and stood in front of the bus and told them to either load the scooter or call the police I wasn't moving. The driver loaded the scooter there were no scooters or wheelchairs on the bus at all

I think I will keep this in mind even though it seems a little harsh; sometimes we have to be more assertive.

 

[kaytieeldr]

One morning at OKW, a driver claimed there was no room for me on the bus. He didn't say the wheelchair spaces were taken, just that the bus was too full (and then kept loading guests on foot). I couldn't see into the bus, so don't know how true this was. I went back inside and talked to a front desk supervisor, who called for another bus to come to Hospitality House first. Instead, it ran the regular route but there was plenty of room for me to board last.

The next morning, again at HH, a different bus driver extended the ramp but had a very definite attitude - or, okay, I was overly sensitive. At any rate, while the ECV was being tied down I was getting the distinct impression I was inconveniencing her; I changed my mind and asked/demanded to be let off the bus.

And, yeah, I've encountered a number of lifts "not working", but in most, if not all cases, the drivers say they'll call another bus - and one comes much faster than the normal twenty minute interval. There was that time that the next lift supposedly wasn't working, either... : and the lift on the third bus really wasn't working - no matter what the driver tried. That wasn't a happy day.

 

[KPeveler]

When I was in Coronado Springs for my honeymoon, there were no queues for the buses. So when the bus pulled up that i wanted, I would go to the FRONT door, essentially blocking anyone else from boarding. Generally the bus driver would wave and then get up to load me. I would then move to the back door while my wife would stay at the front door, waiting for them to load the able bodied guests.

I would NOT suggest this on crowded days, but it was pretty much empty when I was there (no more than 10-15 people waiting to board at each stop), so I did not annoy everyone around me.

If you are finding you are ignored, I find that being insistent and somewhat in the way (not breaking any laws or safety rules of course) certainly gets attention. At the very least, no driver could say that they did not see me!

PLEASE do not cut people in line to take this advice! But if you are the first there, or if there is no real queue, making yourself VERY visible by going to the front door may help if you feel you are being ignored.

 

[idchafee]

I've learned how to operate the movable seats and the tiedowns, so the one time I was told by a driver that "the straps are busted" I got on with the walkers, went back and extended them and told him "they seem like they're working to me." Then he said "oh, they were broke yesterday" and let my mom on. She can't walk at all - that seems to throw the WDW people in general, that she can't get out of her chair to walk up the ramp, or she can't get up and walk on the ride, etc.