Magic Express Article in Orlando Sentinel

[safetymom]

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news...27,0,4007939.story?coll=orl-opinion-headlines

So Disney Magical Express hasn't bankrupted Orlando International Airport after all.

To hear airport bosses tell it last year, the shuttle service that moves tourists directly to the resort's hotels would cost the airport millions of dollars in lost franchise fees from car rentals, taxis and other shuttle services.

Now Disney's service has far exceeded its projections and is on track to move more than 2 million passengers this year. In fact, airport revenues are up -- including fees collected from rental cars.

Far from raze and ruin, Disney's Magical Express has turned out to be a sound business model for effective mass transit. Now others, especially airport officials, should take this lesson and look for ways to apply it to other transit options.

Most important, they can take the lead in making it as convenient as possible for other passengers to move effortlessly from plane to mass transit to home.

All of Central Florida would benefit if airport officials would embrace this model. Consider that 34.1 million passengers passed through OIA in 2005. Based on the first six months of 2006, the airport will exceed those numbers this year. Add to that the 16,000 employees who travel to and from the airport for work each day and you can see how many cars could be removed from Central Florida roads with a well-planned, cooperative effort at mass transit.

Even more exciting are the possibilities opened up by the commuter-rail system set to debut in 2009. It eventually will include a station on Sand Lake Road with a spur to the airport.

One of the beauties of the Disney Express is that people don't have to worry about their luggage until they get to their hotel rooms. No baggage claim, no dragging it down the airport escalators.

Why couldn't the airport take the same approach in conjunction with commuter rail? Imagine a system that would allow a DeBary family to check bags at the commuter-rail station and not have to worry about them again until they arrive in Chicago. They might cross paths with a family that checked in at O'Hare International and picked up their bags at a station in Kissimmee, just minutes from grandma's house.

This is a service people -- including local residents -- surely would use, as Disney's shuttles prove. They're averaging more than 10,000 visitors a day. That's 10,000 fewer passengers clogging baggage-claim carousels and waiting in line at airport ticket counters to check luggage. Passenger bags are screened at a remote location, requiring fewer federal security personnel. If Disney can figure out how to make this work, why can't the airport make it work with commuter rail? And soon -- linking to the system ought to be an urgent priority.

In the long run, the most valuable lesson learned from Disney's Magical Express is that Central Florida wins when airport officials put the community above their own narrow interests.

 

[Lewisc]

Thanks for a well written reply. I'm not convinced the government is correct BUT guests who don't think buses are safe shouldn't be taking the overcrowded Disney buses to the parks. Suggesting safety as a reason to take a towncar from MCO while taking Disney buses to the parks is hypocritical. Suggesting safety as an issue at all is questionable, the experts disagree with you. The issue with bus safety concerns school buses, city buses etc. DME passengers all have individual seats, no standees.

I have no doubt you're a safe driver but I've seen more than my share of taxi and town car drivers that aren't. I have far more confidence in the safety of a Mears driver and vehicle than I have with a driver/vehicle that's subbed by some of the town car companies.

I am wrong for attacking their safety. but yet there are incidents in the U.S. where where busses have crashed and people died or were injured in the crash. I guess the government, state of Florida, may be wrong in their thinking.

I have questioned the safety of all the Disney busses DME, Cruise Line and on-site busses. Even the busses in the city. This is not a city forum so did not vent on that.

I have said I will print an apology if I determine my information to be wrong. In that case it was. I checked with the drivers on the speed that they are able to get in their busses and asked if they were governed. It is possible I was only doing 60 when I was passed by the busses. Actually I don't push my vehicle to much past the speed limits, so they passed me in a speed that is legal.

I didn't say Disney would cover anything up. I said the State of Florida would not release any information without a proper signature on a release for the information. It is a state law. Now tell me who I could go to to get a signature. I sure enough don't have the slightest idea where to start and I am sure no one would admit to being the proper person to get the signature from.

 

[Edd]

That was an informative piece in the paper. The one thing that has to be taken into account that it is an editorial and not credited to a specific reporter. The Orlando Sentinel is highly biased toward Disney as much as some people on these boards consider me highly biased towards the transportation industry. We both make our money from the particular industries we work for.

The airport questioned Disney, very much concerned, how the DME would affect certain revenues. In fact analysts were hired in an attempt to predict what the move to the DME would turn out like. Any good company would go the same route. You just don't take the competing companies opinion on the matter. The editorial may have exaggerated the revenue statements, because at the present time the question is still up in the air as to how the DME will effect the revenues. The best word from the financial department is that revenues are running about the same.

Disney is known to be against the commuter-express system ideas, adamantly. You are right they are starting something in the city, but it is not popular at the present time. Public opinion has been against it and money to explore it further is coming from private sources. There is a lot to be worked on in this area.

Disney is efficient and that is for sure. However, I wouldn't give two cents for any other company taking on a project like the Disney ME and making a success of it.

People in central Florida are not at ease with mass-transportation. Our territories are spread out and we have room to purchase our private vehicles and drive them. We like doing that. I see many potential passengers to the airport disregarding mass transit and sticking with their own way of transportation. Mass transit is popular in large cities 7 - 15 million population. The city of Orlando isn't even close to 500,000 yet.

 

[Edd]

Lewis,

Safety is the number one question of the world. Consider the shuttle, the airline industry, the security industry and just about any industry you can think of. In the event of a crash in any industry people get hurt. Where is this not the case. We spend out more money than anything else trying to make sure people don't get hurt. Why is safety not a number one concern for the company who carries passengers to their resorts and makes money off the money those passengers spend.

The bus industry vehicles are subject to a crash. When they crash someone will get hurt. Why have they not taken a steps to assure the safety of the people riding those busses. Because it will cost them more money? What is more important to the bus companies that build the busses and the companies who drive their passengers around on those busses? Money or the eventual safety of those passengers who ride the busses.

That is how I see it, today.

 

[safetymom]

Safetymom,

How hard is it to put a child safety seat in a vehicle the way the manufacturer suggests. Two or three clicks like: Sit car seat down on seat. Pull seat belt thru the back of the seat and click into the seat belt holder on the other side. Pull the top belt over the seat and connect it to the retainer behind the seat. Check the restraints around the child for correct positioning. Then tighten everything up. Now you have a mother who has been doing this two or three years, or maybe more, for her children and she checks it out because she is concerned. Do you think that seat may provide some safety for the little child in case of an accident?

Edd, you are giving out misinformation on issues again. Did you ever wonder how I got my screen name? I started several car seat rental programs for hospitals and the AAA. I won several awards for my work in PA.

It is a little more complicated than your instructions. First, every mother and every father don't know the correct instructions for installing and using every car seat on the market. Flying into Orlando is not the time to be sitting there reading the owners manual. Do you provide your clients with the manu. owners manual so they can use the seat properly?

How old is the car seat being used? Has it ever been in a recall? How about an accident? Is is always securely fastened between trips or allowed to bounce around in the trunk?

What type of seat belts are in the car? Is the car seat being used facing the correct way? What is the childs weight? Is the seat installed at the correct angle? Did that car seat require the use of a tether strap?

There is a lot more than just plopping the car seat in the car and tightening the straps and belt.

 

[Edd]

I am sure almost every mother has read appropriate information to put a seat belt in a car. I am well familiar with the proper procedures. My concern is your opinion that the busses are safer or safe without the child seat, especially since you have dealt with the child seat on such a scale you have. Justify to me a child is safer in Momma's arms in the event of a bus roll over like the bus in New York state a couple of months ago.

 

[seashoreCM]

The article mentioned that 10% of MCO travelers were Disney bound. What about the other 90%? Don't other transportation companies have all of those passengers to choose from as opposed to complain about business? I'm sure there are a lot of folks who detest having to not only fight traffic but having to pay to leave their car at the airport sitting idle for days while they are gone on business.

By the way the article did not mention whether the 160,000 to 200,000 Magical Express passenger-trips were one way versus round trips.

 

[safetymom]

Edd, I guess we need to agree to disagree on this. You aren't familiar with the proper procedures by your remarks. Not all parents take the time to learn how to use their car seat properly. I am sure many people use the seat correctly at home but not correctly when they use the one provided by the limo company or rental car company. There are some accidents that aren't survivable no matter if you are using a car seat or in a bus.

Yes I am a survivor of several bad accidents, and my children survived one accident because they were in a properly installed car seat.

You can't condemn all bus transportation because of your example.

 

[Lewisc]

I think DME is great. To be fair Disney has a good system of internal transportation. Guests staying at WDW don't need a car, as such they were a good source of business for town car companies. Guests staying offsite are far more likely to need a car. I suspect more than 10% of the towncar customers were WDW bound.

The article mentioned that 10% of MCO travelers were Disney bound. What about the other 90%? Don't other transportation companies have all of those passengers to choose from as opposed to complain about business?

By the way the article did not mention whether the 160,000 to 200,000 trips were one way versus round trips.

 

[Edd]

Safetymom,

I mentioned that I was well familiar with the proper procedures and that came about because I spent two hours at the Highway Patrol office in a child seat class in August, 2004. Maybe time makes me no longer qualified. Who knows.

Also wearing a seat belt saved my life in 1997, with believe this, no apparent injuries. The accident was not my fault.

 

[Edd]

SeashorCM,

The private car service, or others, take care of the guests not going to Disney in an excellent manner. The only place you hear about the bad service is going to Disney. About 25% of that may be true, but many times the incident is distorted to some degree.

I have always said the DME helps the transportation scheme at the airport. You know my stand when it comes to safety.

 

[safetymom]

Edd, I am glad to hear that a seat belt saved your life. Too bad more people don't use them.

 

[goofy4tink]

I think it's a question of percentages here....obviously there are a lot of people out there, in autos, that are safer because they are wearing seat belts. In fact, I am one of those who thinks that if you are in a car accident, and you weren't wearing your seatbelt, your insurance pays a smaller percentage of your bill. But, I digress....if there was a higher percentage of people riding buses, then we would see higher percentages of people getting injured in bus injuries. It's the same theory as in air travel...if I travel by plane, once or twice in my lifetime, my chances of being killed in a plane crash are slim. However, if I travel 3 times a month, every year, then my chances are greatly heightened...by a lot!!! So, I have to assume it's the same with bus travel. Is my child safer in a car seat, in a towncar? Or is she safer sitting either in the seat next to me, or on my lap, in a DME (or WDW) bus? Since there are more cars than buses on the roads, I would think my chances of getting in an accident are greater in the car. So, yes, I would want my child in a carseat, same as at home. However, if we are traveling by bus, I feel pretty safe to begin with. You have to admit...there are a lot more car accidents than there are bus rollovers. And it would take either a rollover or a semi hitting the bus to make it a fatal accident in the bus. Usually the bus, in most every day type road accident, will come out on top (no, not literally!!!, well perhaps sometimes).

So, bottom line is this...if you are really concerned about your child's safety while getting from the airport to your resort then hire a towncar, or possibly a cab (not sure if they are all equiped with car seats). If you aren't as concerned, then go with DME. Are you putting your child's life at risk using the bus system? I think not!!! This discussion is going nowhere....we are not going to change anyone's mind. Could be getting to the end of this one.

 

[CleveRocks]

Edd,

How much would it cost to have you on-call, within 10-15 minutes of a call (about the same as waiting time for a bus), every day for 6 days, from about 0800 to about 2100?

I have a feeling that the cost would be ... how did I put it?... extravagant.

Even though Disney Transport buses are a shared ride, they are there within 10-15 minutes whenever I need them, without a phone call or appointment or ANY pre-planning whatsoever. The same could be said for a rental car. We know that having you on-call would be more expensive than Disney Transport. Would it be more expensive than a decently-priced rental car. I would think so, for your sake.

I also resent your implying that I would be stingy regarding my family's safety.

Are you saying you let the money fly to Disney and a little bit tight on your family concerns?

That was uncalled for.

If you saw the work I do and the work my wife does, you'd see the horror of the effects of lack of safety, and I'm not talking still photos, I'm talking minute-to-minute life for years and years after the initial accident.

Why would anyone in their right mind pay you to drive them from MCO to their resort, then rent a car the moment they get to the resort, and use that car to get to and from the parks and keep it until you come to pick them up for another paid ride to MCO? Why shouldn't they just bring their own car seats that they are familiar with, use them on the airplane, then rent the car at MCO and use their own car seats for their entire stay, including driving themselves back to the airport and using the car seats on the plane again. Is there ANYTHING safer than that???

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

There are some reasons to use a livery service (towncar. limo, private van, or SUV) instead of Magical Express. However, safety is not one of them.

Let's suppose that you're rear-ended or broadsided by another driver on the trip from the airport to WDW. Would you be safer seated in a large Magical Express motorcoach (which does not have seat belts) or in a towncar (which has seat belts)?

My opinion is that my family and I would be much safer in a large motorcoach. Consider what the collision impact would do to the vehicle in which you're traveling in each case. The passenger compartment of the motorcoach is elevated above the engine and luggage hold. The mass of the motorcoach is much greater than that of a car, limo, or SUV.

I also resent the implication that people who use Magical Express are bad parents who are jeopardizing the safety of their children.

It's my opinion — and I could be wrong (but I don't think so in this case) — that when comparing the safety of a livery service (such as a towncar), rental car, or Magical Express motorcoach in the event of a collision, the motorcoach is the safest.

 

[goofy4tink]

Sorry people, I really hate to shut ya down, but we're going downhill rapidly. There has been nothing new added here, we have 'debated' the article to a fare-thee-well. Move along to the next discussion..nothing more to see here!!