Official policy for small kids on busses ?

[Donnask8pro]

Thanks guys, I appreciate it. And no, I was not referring to anyone on the thread. Just in general the reaction we get from people. The bus situation in unfortunte. No one has any patience anymore. Its the society we live in. Sad. Thanks again.

 

[TDC Nala]

If you must have a seat on the bus, get on the bus before it fills, and if it fills before you get on, wait for the next bus.

Then, once you get the seat, you don't have to give it up unless you want to.

 

[maelstrom]

I am an adult and I cannot stand on the bus and hold onto something unless I'm near one of the vertical poles. I cannot reach the horizontal poles without standing on my tip-toes and stretching my arm as far as I can. And I have been on packed busses like this, and have been tossed around, unable to hold on to anything, and have had non-handicapped seated adults laugh at me. And I was so shocked that I didn't even say anything. I fail to see how any of that was humourous. Waiting for another bus was not an option as my parents had already boarded the bus and somehow pushed their way to the back and gotten seats, which they didn't offer to me, though they saw what was happening. Then they got mad at me for being ticked at what happened. I think Disney really needs to re-evaluate their bus policies and designs. People shouldn't be packed in like sardines and there should be more lower poles (after all, there are a lot of kids in WDW). I look very young and most people assume that I am a child, and I guess that makes it alright in their minds to laugh at me or be rude to me. But god help me if this ever happens again, once I open my mouth, they'll realize that I am most certainly not a child and will not be treated as such.

/end rant.

 

[TDC Nala]

Did not mean to offend. It's just the bus situations are not safe by any means (regardless of what parents think)and having small ones get their own seats does not insure "added" safety unless seatbelts are provided imho. When the busses are that packed (as they consistantly were), anyone standing can loose footing and fall on to a small child sitting down. .

Then perhaps parents of small children should consider renting cars, if the buses are considered unsafe under any circumstances.

 

[seashoreCM]

I am an adult ... and have been tossed around, unable to hold on to anything,. .... Waiting for another bus was not an option as my parents had already boarded the bus and somehow pushed their way to the back and gotten seats, which they didn't offer to me, though they saw what was happening. Then they got mad at me ....

At this moment I think you need to deal with your parents first. Let's see, would getting off the bus and waiting for the next one be a first step?

I forget, do the buses have handles on all of the seat backs?

This is why I rent a car. I have a 12 yr old DS in a wheelchair with cerebral palsy. I am able to board before others but I dont want to hear back lash from others so I rent. I have heard many comments from people about boarding while they have been waiting. :

The fad needs to go the other way, not renting cars and using the buses instead. We all agree that with more wheelchairs and the same number of buses, the number of people per hour will be less. In turn by keeping up this fad the number of buses will increase. I'll need to do a little more brainstorming before I can come up with choice things to reply to the back lash and report back here.

 

[maelstrom]

At this moment I think you need to deal with your parents first. Let's see, would getting off the bus and waiting for the next one be a first step?

I forget, do the buses have handles on all of the seat backs?

Getting off the bus and waiting for the next one would not have been an option or "first step" as we didn't have cell phones and had no way to contact each other if we had become separated. You can spare me the attitude.

The busses that have the narrow aisles and double seats on both sides do have suitable handles and these work out great for me. The newer busses with the wide aisles have the seatbacks touching the window so no there is nothing to hold on to.

 

[cranbiz]

The busses that have the narrow aisles and double seats on both sides do have suitable handles and these work out great for me. The newer busses with the wide aisles have the seatbacks touching the window so no there is nothing to hold on to.

That is correct, the RTS has handrails on the seat backs, the Nova's and Gilligs do not. However, there are hanging straps on the bars of the Gilligs ( not many but some) and there are lower bars near the back doors on both the Nova's and Gilligs. The Nova's also have some lower bars near the front wheelwells.

 

[maelstrom]

That is correct, the RTS has handrails on the seat backs, the Nova's and Gilligs do not. However, there are hanging straps on the bars of the Gilligs ( not many but some) and there are lower bars near the back doors on both the Nova's and Gilligs. The Nova's also have some lower bars near the front wheelwells.

I always try to get near a lower bar, but sometimes when the bus is packed like a can of sardines, moving to an area with a lower bar is not an option (moving at all isn't an option sometimes). Most times I can either get a seat or grab onto a lower bar, but once in awhile, I cannot, and it presents a safety issue for myself and those around me (falling into people). I still think that the design and safety of the WDW busses needs to be re-evaluated.

As an aside, I think that bus drivers need to be much more strict with kids who sit on the floor and the parents who let them.

 

[cranbiz]

No guests are allowed to sit on the floors. If they are and can be seen by the driver, the bus is not susposed to move. This is a large safety hazard. That being said, the driver cannot always see all guests, especially when the bus is full. Again, this is a case of parents needing to be responsible for thier children's safety.

The intent of the low floor busses is to allow wider aisles for handicap access. If you lower the upper handrails, you now create a safety hazard by having the rails in proximity to a guests head. I will say that there could be more hanging straps. This would help a guest who is of shorter statue. I don't feel that Disney should trade handicap accessability for the seating arrangement of the RTS. The wider aisles make it easier to disembark guests normally and in case of an emergency. The low floor bus is also the only one that works for certain types of mobility devices.

To return to the RTS style bus will make for longer load times, less overall guest safety, (although it provides lower handrails for shorter guests) less handicap accessability and longer overall transit times.

Last night a driver took a wrong turn leaving POP, corrected his mistake within 2 minutes, and had guests complain to a GSM about the fact that the trip took longer than it should. (The reason was because he was a newer driver and had just had trouble with guests not complying with the safety rules. He was still flustered from that incident and just turned out of POP wrong)

I'm sorry, but despite our best efforts, we can't please everyone!