Is Disney going to start posting bus wait times or have they already?

[okienick]

I thought I read somewhere they were doing a test of posting wait times for the next bus at each of the resorts. Is this going to happen, or has it already started?? This would be a WONDERFUL feature, especially for the control freak planner in me.

 

[appleorchard]

Only certain hotels have it. Kidani definitely does--and we loved the feature! Boardwalk and Beach Club don't. Can't vouch for anyplace else.

 

[bcuinohio]

My son's college has an app where you can see the location of all of the busses. You pick the route you are interested in and you can see where all of the busses are. That would be nice if Disney could do that and put it on their app.

 

[mandi1590]

POR had wait time at the south depot in January but not at the other 3.

 

[DebbieB]

They had it at Grand Floridian when I was there in May. It really didn't help in planning because you would not know until you got to the bus stop what time the next bus was coming. Then the time kept changing. For example, I was going to DHS. At first it said the bus would arrive at say 9:30. Then it would say 9:32, then 9:35, then 9:37. So it really wasn't that reliable.

 

[joelkfla]

It's still being tested & tweaked, which is why it hasn't been rolled out property-wide.

 

[Mr. Pig]

They had it at Grand Floridian when I was there in May. It really didn't help in planning because you would not know until you got to the bus stop what time the next bus was coming. Then the time kept changing. For example, I was going to DHS. At first it said the bus would arrive at say 9:30. Then it would say 9:32, then 9:35, then 9:37. So it really wasn't that reliable.

We found the same thing at GF in October. Didn't exactly make if very helpful if the arrival time kept getting randomly pushed back. Maybe it's an indication that it's just not possible to accurately show arrival times.

 

[DebbieB]

We found the same thing at GF in October. Didn't exactly make if very helpful if the arrival time kept getting randomly pushed back. Maybe it's an indication that it's just not possible to accurately show arrival times.

My guess is they can't account for time delayed due to having to load/unload a wheelchair or ECV at the stop before yours. Or getting stuck in traffic.

 

[MillauFr]

My guess is they can't account for time delayed due to having to load/unload a wheelchair or ECV at the stop before yours. Or getting stuck in traffic.

Yes it is difficult to account for time needed to load/unload wheelchairs. Traffic should be a relatively simple adjustment for the system to make. Even Google Maps can give you updated travel times based on traffic conditions.

 

[seashoreCM]

The success of a bus wait time system depends on committing to the published times. Schedule adjustments due to unexpected delays en route are unavoidable, but it is not acceptable for buses to simply disappear from the system because they were suddenly reassigned to a different route. Also, say, a bus is scheduled to arrive in ten minutes. If somehow an extra bus arrived at that moment, the bus that is 10 minutes away has to remain scheduled, not summarily pushed back to be 20 minutes away because the general 20 minute headway is still more or less being honored.

 

[BuckeyeMickey]

We stayed at POR in Sept 2014 and at first thought the bus monitor was helpful. However, as the days went by, we noticed the same things as PP. At one point, we waited over 45 minutes for an Epcot bus that had an original "arrival" time of 8 minutes. The screen kept updating...Next bus at 11:08...then 11:15...then 11:29...and so on until 45 minutes later, one FINALLY came. We were so tempted to just walk over to one of the many cabs waiting and just go on to the park, but nooooo...we kept relying on that stupid screen, thinking it would arrive as shown. Needless to say, I was not thrilled with the system.

 

[seashoreCM]

Forty five minute wait? I think it's worth filing a complaint at Guest Relations. The system "was obviously broke."

 

[nkereina]

My guess is they can't account for time delayed due to having to load/unload a wheelchair or ECV at the stop before yours. Or getting stuck in traffic.

But wouldn't the buses have some kind of tracker that's keeping track of their actual time? Similar to city buses or subways. It would report real time information to the monitors, rather than an estimate I would assume. Otherwise it would be pretty useless.

 

[joelkfla]

But wouldn't the buses have some kind of tracker that's keeping track of their actual time? Similar to city buses or subways. It would report real time information to the monitors, rather than an estimate I would assume. Otherwise it would be pretty useless.

Yes, they do (although a fair number are usually not working properly, making that bus "untrackable".)

But, for example, the MK bus makes 3 stops at POR before arriving at South Depot. A delay due to wheelchairs or buses stacked up can occur at any or more than one of those stops, causing the ETA to change.

A bus could also fill up before reaching South, causing the ETA to jump back 10 or 15 minutes. If a bus fills up, and everything is working the way it should, another bus should be dispatched from the buses in reserve at the resort to immediately pick up the slack -- but everything doesn't always work the way it should.

And if the next bus displayed on the monitor has not yet left the park, a bus may not be available for that run until a few minutes after scheduled, or the bus assigned may be delayed at the park due to heavy unloading.

 

[nkereina]

Yes, they do (although a fair number are usually not working properly, making that bus "untrackable".)

But, for example, the MK bus makes 3 stops at POR before arriving at South Depot. A delay due to wheelchairs or buses stacked up can occur at any or more than one of those stops, causing the ETA to change.

A bus could also fill up before reaching South, causing the ETA to jump back 10 or 15 minutes. If a bus fills up, and everything is working the way it should, another bus should be dispatched from the buses in reserve at the resort to immediately pick up the slack -- but everything doesn't always work the way it should.

And if the next bus displayed on the monitor has not yet left the park, a bus may not be available for that run until a few minutes after scheduled, or the bus assigned may be delayed at the park due to heavy unloading.

Yes, but if it's reporting real time info and the time jumps to another 7 minutes because of a delay boarding an ECV (or whatever), if its working the way it should, then wouldn't the time go from 10 minutes out to 17 minutes out? Or whatever the case may be.

 

[joelkfla]

Yes, but if it's reporting real time info and the time jumps to another 7 minutes because of a delay boarding an ECV (or whatever), if its working the way it should, then wouldn't the time go from 10 minutes out to 17 minutes out? Or whatever the case may be.

It does -- that's what the previous posters were complaining about, that the ETA keeps getting later.

 

[nkereina]

It does -- that's what the previous posters were complaining about, that the ETA keeps getting later.

Exactly. So ECV hold ups and traffic wouldn't matter, because the accurate wait time would still be reported on the monitor...

 

[joelkfla]

Exactly. So ECV hold ups and traffic wouldn't matter, because the accurate wait time would still be reported on the monitor...

Yes, accurate at the time you see it. But as delays add up, the actual wait time increases, which is reflected on the screen. So maybe five minutes later, the ETA is 5 minutes later than what it was when you first looked at the screen. The wait time is the same as it was when you first looked at it, but now you've already waited 5 minutes, so your actual wait time is 5 minutes longer.

It's like the donkey chasing a carrot on a stick. The carrot is always just a foot away from his mouth, but he can never catch up with it.