Lots more scooters riding the buses now

[Betty Rohrer]

Wow. I think this wins as the most offensive post ever. Maybe people who are so impatient and lacking in even a little compassion should rent cars, rather than mingle with people who use Ecvs.

we had a trip where this would have been our party. party was my husband, our 4 year old grandson and my self plus a scooter. I was not allowed to remain seated on scooter and needed help to reach my seat so based on op plan who be with my grandson or was he supposed to be by self or was I supposed to lean on the 4 year old to get to my seat plus how was I to be able to keep him close in crowd as I waited for husband? just asking based on op plan. how is my post offensive to you

 

[seashoreCM]

If the bus driver was the one who told you you were not allowed to remain seated on the scooter then you could ask him for assistance. The bus driver would have an advantage in providing the assistance because he would quickly succeed in getting a bus seat for you even if the bus was crowded.

 

[kaytieeldr]

If the bus driver was the one who told you you were not allowed to remain seated on the scooter then you could ask him for assistance. The bus driver would have an advantage in providing the assistance because he would quickly succeed in getting a bus seat for you even if the bus was crowded.

Cast Members are not allowed to physically assist guests.

More important, though, is that the original poster's suggestion is selfish and asinine and will not be adopted. Drivers will not even enforce the current recommended party size. They are absolutely not going to limit the mobility device parties to two total passengers.

 

[joelkfla]

Cast Members are not allowed to physically assist guests.

More important, though, is that the original poster's suggestion is selfish and asinine and will not be adopted. Drivers will not even enforce the current recommended party size. They are absolutely not going to limit the mobility device parties to two total passengers.

CM's are not allowed to physically lift Guests, but they are allowed to extend an arm for support.

 

[goofy4tink]

I can’t believe this is still going!! Phew.
Here’s the thing. Disney wants guests to be happy, enjoying the parks with their families. They seem to have made the assumption that most ambulatory (good choice of word, thank-you!) guests won’t mind waiting an addtl 5 mins or so while an ecv Guest is boarded. And I think they’re right. The vast majority of people are compassionate and empathetic. They’ve left plenty of time to get to their destination. If they find they have to stand in the bus, most take it graciously. Yes, there are a few that will mean and groan about an ecv being boarded, with the subsequent family members. But, those people are in the minority.
There is way too much of the ‘You first...right after me’ mentality nowadays. What seems fair to one person may very well seem less than fair to others. Just the way it is. Disney feels the system works. It’s onlt an issue at really busy times....park open and close. A

 

[snappy]

There is way too much of the ‘You first...right after me’ mentality nowadays. What seems fair to one person may very well seem less than fair to others. Just the way it is. Disney feels the system works. It’s onlt an issue at really busy times....park open and close. A

Not limited to Disney. Or to people living with disabilities. Too many in society feel entitled, I have seen it worsen in last 20 years. But I am old and cranky so maybe I am a bit jaundiced.

 

[seashoreCM]

I don't think we are talking about guests groaning about having to wait in the bus an additional 5 minutes while an ECV guest is being loaded. Rather it's guests who are left behind at the bus stop because the bus filled up with other guests who were perceived to have cut in line. Twenty minutes, or maybe more, waiting for the next bus. Minutes that could have been spent enjoying the parks with their families.

Now let's just imagine that those perhaps as many as two dozen guests immediately impacted by large entourages accompanying ECV guests were to get an extra Fastpass each. Would that make for happier times at the bus stop?

 

[Betty Rohrer]

If the bus driver was the one who told you you were not allowed to remain seated on the scooter then you could ask him for assistance. The bus driver would have an advantage in providing the assistance because he would quickly succeed in getting a bus seat for you even if the bus was crowded.

from what I have been told CMs are not allowed to assist a guest. and yes it was driver who would not allow me to stay on scooter. was told if I had a wheelchair I could stay in bit not a scooter as was not safe as ties would not help hold me on seat of scooter way they did for a wheelchair, crowded bus would already have a problem getting scooter into place without hitting people in aisle as you have to back scooter into space as space is tight for scooters for the tie downs to work

 

[kaytieeldr]

No. That makes bus transportation unequal "Oh,you poor things, having to wait in a line or stand on a bus Herefordshire* that ECV user's party took the of the seats. And you get a FastPass, and you get a FastPass, and you, and you, and you. Nothing for you, though, ECV used and your party."
*i don't have any idea what I meant to say, but it certainly wasn't this!

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

During our last trip 2 months ago, I noticed a distinct increase in the number of scooters. It used to be that we saw a scooter once in a while. Now there's a scooter in ever bus during busy times, sometimes two. This makes bus travel take a lot longer. The scooter then gets ahead of the line, together with their entire party.

I think Disney should make a rule that a scooter can be accompanied by at most one person. The rest of the party must then wait in line like everybody else, to be fair. The scooter is already taking up much more space and time than an individual; there's no justification that their party should cut ahead also. In the past, scooters were rare enough so that it didn't matter. Now that the number of scooters have increased, the rules should be updated and made more fair to minimize the impact on others. It is true that this way the scooter party may get separated, but with the prevalence of cell phones that shouldn't be much of a problem.

One benefit of the new gondola system is that gondolas can be individually moved over to load a scooter while the rest of the gondolas can keep moving and load the others, so that the scooter will not have much effect in holding things up.

1. Wow! just wow!
2. We go to WDW enough to clearly see that there are 2 lines for the busses. One line for able bodied guest, one line for people using mobility devices so they are not cutting ahead. They are waiting in their designated line.
3. Only 2 spots for ECV / wheelchairs available on each bus which equals 6 seats plus 2 if the riders take a seat. 30+ seats for everyone else plus standing room.
4. You should be ashamed of yourself.

 

[GreatLakes]

We were down there in early November and noticed the opposite. We saw a lot less scooters than normal and only had one bus trip where there was a scooter that needed loaded/unloaded. Anecdotally I've noticed less scooters when we go at times when kids are in school. I'm not sure if it is a coincidence but it seems like when there are less kids there are also less scooters.

 

[KPeterso]

We stayed at the Boardwalk on our most recent trip, so only had the buses for 2 of the parks. My Mom uses an ECV and there are no line queues at the Boardwalk for the loading of the buses. We had 1 morning that we were going to AK and there was quite a wait for the buses. By the time one arrived, there were 5-6 scooters now waiting for that park. We got on as we were scooter 1 to arrive. The cast member at the stop did a great job keeping it straight what order the scooters arrived and giving each person their number. While the bus that we ended up taking to AK was fairly full, more able-bodied (ambulatory) people could have gotten on, but 4 scooters stayed back at the resort and would need at least 2 more buses to clear them, but definitely not the ambulatory people. Most people are fairly nice to Mom and I since we are just the 2 of us, but we get some rude comments too.

 

[EveDallas]

Wow. I think this wins as the most offensive post ever. Maybe people who are so impatient and lacking in even a little compassion should rent cars, rather than mingle with people who use Ecvs.

100% agree. Apparently someone with a spouse who has medical needs should never leave the house.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

You are 100% correct, so to be fair to all and treat everyone equally, do away with the priority board first process, and everyone gets in line first come/first serve. That way everyone is being treated equally. But IMHO that doesn't make much sense, though it would be equal treatment.

I'm not trying to kick the hornets nest, that's already been done in previous threads. But, I think what the OP was trying to say, and makes some sense is that those needing accommodations can pre-board with one other person, the rest of the party waits in line with the rest of the crowd. If they get on the bus that's wonderful, if not then they would need to wait. The person needing the accommodation would be assisted, no discrimination in my eyes.

Okay. why don't we treat everyone equally.

The scooters get in line with everyone else. When they come to the front, if there isn't enough room for them, the doors close and no one else gets on. If that means the bus is just over half full, oh well.

Basically make it that if the scooter and rider can't board, no one else can board.

That is fair to all and treating everyone equally. You think you wait extra time now? Just wait. (pun intended) But, hey, everything will be "fair."

By the way, the reason they load scooters even if they just pulled up, is to not cause a back up. If you make that scooter wait and two more pull up, they are then having to send another bus for the third scooter. Do it a couple of times, and there are back ups all over. It is a decision made by Disney to reduce back ups.

 

[goofy4tink]

To the best of my knowledge, wheelchairs/scooters are supposed to be boarded first according to dept of transportation regulations. This can’t always happen if the bus is making multiple pick-ups. But, generally speaking, drivers will try to get scooters on a bus that is empty, if that’s not possible, then guests will have to be moved.
I think the best way to alleviate the grumbling would be to enforce the number of people boarding with the ecv. Currently the signage asks for no more than six to board. But, it’s a request, not a rule. If the driver requested those over the number of six to wait in the line, others might not be so ‘put out’....especially if the line is long.

 

[snappy]

Never going to please everyone, they can grumble and complain but deserve to be ignored. In my opinion, the needs of individuals living with a disability and their family members outweigh the needs of those who do not. Fairness has nothing to do with it.

 

[sam_gordon]

Never going to please everyone, they can grumble and complain but deserve to be ignored. In my opinion, the needs of individuals living with a disability and their family members outweigh the needs of those who do not. Fairness has nothing to do with it.

OK, I'll bite... please justify the bolded.

I have no problems with scooters boarding first. BUT, I do think there should be a limit on how many people board with them. Here's why... let's say a bus holds 40 people (yea, it's probably more, but go with me). There's a line for the bus of 30 people. Just as you see the bus pulling up, a scooter pulls up, along with their 39 relatives (hey, it's a big family reunion). Does it make sense in anyone's mind that all 39 people travelling with with person in the ECV should get on the bus, filling it, leaving those who had been waiting (possibly through two busses) already? So in my mind, a limit makes sense. The question is what should that limit be. 5-6 seems like a decent amount to me. Hey, look, Disney already says 6 companions. Perfect! Now enforce it.

And before someone says "would you want your family to split up?" No, I wouldn't. But if I had a family of 6 and there was only room for three on the bus, we could either split up, or all wait for the next bus. Those travelling with ECVs would (and do) have the same option.

 

[snappy]

I think 39 may be an outlier. You ever see 39 board with a guest using a ECV? I haven’t. But I really haven’t stood around and counted.

And I think Disney should have CM’s available at bus stops to call for additional busses when needed when there are too many people to board a bus whether a guests using a ECV with their party or not. I believe that is the crux of the problem not the number of guests accompanying the ECV user. But that’s just me. I have no dog in the fight, I don’t travel with anyone who currently uses a ECV, never have. But my sister used 1 years ago on 2 disney trips. She was only traveling with her DH, and yet she felt very conspicuous and uncomfortable when thinking about how others guests were impacted. She did not say anyone made any untoward comments or eye rolls. She felt bad for anyone waiting anyway. I also worked for 10 years in an administrative capacity at a non-profit whose mission was to help people living with a disability get access to affordable assistive devices, including power chairs, wheel chairs, etc. I think my interaction with the device users colors my attitude. Your experience is likely different and will vary.

 

[snappy]

I also think asking Disney to enforce it is likely a bridge too far. Heck they don’t even seem to reliably enforce the new parking fees, and that’s a revenue generating item.

Too many bus drivers to police, again, in my opinion.

 

[seashoreCM]

Perfect! Now enforce it!

I read one example here on The DIS about a driver saying something like, "It's my bus and I decide how to load it." And (maybe the same driver and thread maybe different ones) the driver calling out for other family members to accompany the person just tied down with the scooter.l

But what if the driver did nothing special? Some time I suggested on another forum, a thread discussing assaults on drivers, that "The driver should accept fares as opposed to collect fares." The same idea, the driver should not force any issues.

What would then happen here at a Disney bus platform. Would a free for all happen at the bus door? (Don't you all chime in in the next 60 seconds, perhaps ending up with as many different replies as there were different responders.)

I have not yet observed a situation on another transit system (and I use public transit a lot) where an issue arose regarding family members and scooters.

CM’s available at bus stops to call for additional buses ...

Isn't a driver supposed to make that call (telephone call, not judgment call) if he leaves guests behind? It can be done discreetly without confronting guests.