Parking scooter on bus

[Selket]

We were at AKL, and since there are 2 stops (one for Jamba House and one for Kidani Village) it is not uncommon at all to find passengers on the bus when you board.

I was never asked to back on the bus, because I am using my power chair now. However, in the 2 weeks we were there, we never saw a single ECV being boarded on any Disney transportation backwards.

Ah! I haven't stayed at AKL since those were built (!) so there was only one stop...like 20 years ago haha! Apparently other than CSR, I tend to stay at places with one bus stop or that only serves one resort. I don't recall ever backing off of a bus either.

I think Pop is a good spot for people who aren't fond of parking their ECVs on a bus. You have the skyline to two parks and the bus to MK/AK is dedicated to Pop so it's empty when you get on and off. Monorail resorts also may have this as well? Seems like I've gotten on the bus at CR with a few people left on it since it shares with WL but I've never had an issue there.

 

[bluecruiser]

*I* fully agree that it's not safe to do, however it was both routine and common during our 2 week in September for drivers to belt the scooter rider in for the trip.

I would rather let folks know what to expect based on recent experience, so that they are not surprised when the driver insists you stay seated on the scooter, and use the seat belt.

Good point. However, people need to know they don't have to let the bus driver force them to stay on the ECV during transport. I tell the driver I need to transfer to a seat for safety purposes. So far, I've never had one force me to stay on the ECV.

Editing to add - from Walt Disney World's page on mobility disabilities:
"It is recommended that Guests using an ECV/scooter transfer to a bus seat while onboard."

So if the driver is pushing back you can quote him/her Disney's own words. They don't say it's for safety reasons, but that's the most logical conclusion I can make based on context.

 

[Simba's Mom]

*I* fully agree that it's not safe to do, however it was both routine and common during our 2 week in September for drivers to belt the scooter rider in for the trip.

I would rather let folks know what to expect based on recent experience, so that they are not surprised when the driver insists you stay seated on the scooter, and use the seat belt.

It was my experience also when I was there in January. What's interesting was that I remember a discussion about this same issue-whether or not you should remain on your ECV or transfer to a seat. So the next time I went to WDW, I noticed signs on every bus saying that, like you said, it is not safe to remain on your ECV, so to please transfer to a seat. OK, but about 5 years later, I noticed again, and somehow all those signs are gone.

 

[tzvdmd]

There is at least one new bus that the scooter has to be backed onto. If you are uncomfortable loading the scooter in either situation just ask the driver for help. When a scooter or wheelchair is left behind due to the spots being full, a message is sent to the Ops center so a different bus can be dispatched.

 

[SueM in MN]

There is at least one new bus that the scooter has to be backed onto. If you are uncomfortable loading the scooter in either situation just ask the driver for help. When a scooter or wheelchair is left behind due to the spots being full, a message is sent to the Ops center so a different bus can be dispatched.

Do you know what's different or new about that bus?

 

[Simba's Mom]

Do you know what's different or new about that bus?

I was wondering that also. I'm not sure I'm looking forward to backing up the ramp onto a bus.

 

[tzvdmd]

Do you know what's different or new about that bus?

The new bus/buses have an automatic tie down for the scooters. It wont require the drivers to lean over top of the guests. There are 93 new buses ordered but I don't know if all will be equipped this way.

 

[tzvdmd]

I was wondering that also. I'm not sure I'm looking forward to backing up the ramp onto a bus.

The new bus/buses have an automatic tie down for the scooters. It wont require the drivers to lean over top of the guests. There are 93 new buses ordered but I don't know if all will be equipped this way.

 

[TinkAgainU]

The manager heard the guy and met us at AKL where the driver was removed from the bus. I got an apology (and some pins and fast passes delivered to the room) but it made me afraid to go on a bus again and we never left the resort again. Hopefully there are no more bad apples!

I'm so sorry to hear this! We used a scooter for the first time, and every single driver (both offsite and Disney) was kind and patient. Once when we were nervous, a driver was happy to drive the scooter aboard and unload it. I truly believe you got the one bad driver! Just be sure if using a non-Disney bus to ask if they have a ramp. Some drivers will take a while to sort out the ramp if not used to it, but a lot of buses have them.

Another option is to send someone to the park as soon as it opens to reserve a scooter for you. You still have to get into the park somehow (there were wheelchairs in the parking area last time I looked), but after that your scooter is available for about $50 per day. If you Park Hop, you can get a scooter in the next park that day for free too, as long as there is one available. If Park Hopping, I would send that same person ahead to be sure a scooter was available.

If you are scooter-distance from the park, most rental services will deliver one to your resort, which is somewhat cheaper and gives you a scooter for sure to use. Then you are not taking it on the bus at all.

Again, sorry to hear you went thru this! Have faith, most bus drivers are Very sweet. P.S. More than one driver told us they like operating the scooters, so they are happy to "play" with them by loading or unloading them for you, as a change of pace in their day.

 

[SueM in MN]

The new bus/buses have an automatic tie down for the scooters. It wont require the drivers to lean over top of the guests. There are 93 new buses ordered but I don't know if all will be equipped this way.

Do you know the brand or if it's just scooters and not wheelchairs ?

 

[lanejudy]

There is at least one new bus that the scooter has to be backed onto.

The new bus/buses have an automatic tie down for the scooters. It wont require the drivers to lean over top of the guests. There are 93 new buses ordered but I don't know if all will be equipped this way.

I'm curious what about the automatic tie down means that the user must back onto the bus (from the sidewalk)? I can understand needing to back into the "parking" spot once on the bus.

 

[SueM in MN]

Is this the system?
QStraint Quantum website

QStraint Q Pod is the current system, which is forward facing and requires the driver to secure the hooks onto the wheelchair or ECV.
Quantum is an automated system with self adjusting arms that hold the wheelchair or ECV.
It is rear facing, so I can see it might require backing onto the bus to get into the correct position

 

[Debbie Jean]

Is this the system?
QStraint Quantum website

QStraint Q Pod is the current system, which is forward facing and requires the driver to secure the hooks onto the wheelchair or ECV.
Quantum is an automated system with self adjusting arms that hold the wheelchair or ECV.
It is rear facing, so I can see it might require backing onto the bus to get into the correct position

If you watch the videos, entrance is driving forward, no backing up needed. There is a scooter and it required the same level of maneuvering to get it into position as the current system at WDW. Only difference is the driver doesn’t have to do the tie down.

More problematic is getting off the bus. Looks easy for a power chair which is highly maneuverable… exits going forward easy peasy. They don’t show how a rear facing scooter gets access to the ramp to exit… can’t see how you could turn it around given the space unless there are two ramps with one in back.

There are power chair users at WDW and most are highly skilled drivers but there are many more scooters…. most often operated by people who don’t use them IRL. Loading these on buses is what takes the time. Can’t see how a system like this does anything to help streamline boarding.

But, hey, they want scooters to backup the ramp into the monorail cars now, so I’m not saying it can’t happen on buses.

 

[tseitel]

We just got back from a 9 day trip. Every single bus, and it was a lot, had my mom remain seated on her scooter.
The only place I saw them telling ecv users to back in was getting on the monorail at the Contemporary.

 

[SueM in MN]

If you watch the videos, entrance is driving forward, no backing up needed. There is a scooter and it required the same level of maneuvering to get it into position as the current system at WDW. Only difference is the driver doesn’t have to do the tie down.

More problematic is getting off the bus. Looks easy for a power chair which is highly maneuverable… exits going forward easy peasy. They don’t show how a rear facing scooter gets access to the ramp to exit… can’t see how you could turn it around given the space unless there are two ramps with one in back.

There are power chair users at WDW and most are highly skilled drivers but there are many more scooters…. most often operated by people who don’t use them IRL. Loading these on buses is what takes the time. Can’t see how a system like this does anything to help streamline boarding.

But, hey, they want scooters to backup the ramp into the monorail cars now, so I’m not saying it can’t happen on buses.

I watched the videos and read all the information. The videos showed city transit buses; all passengers board those from the front door. So that's why the person driving the ECV drove straight forward onto the bus and toward the securement device. The device secures the passenger facing the rear of the bus. Entering from the front, like in the video in this link, the passenger is already facing the rear and just needs a little manouvering to line up.
With rear entry ramp buses, like the Disney buses, the passenger boards going forward. So, they would either have to turn around inside the bus or back in to face rear to be in position to use the securement device.
My daughter's wheelchair is transit ready with tiedown loops and the model is crash tested. I'm not sure how I feel about the device. Sure it's safe, but I'm not sure how 50 pounds of sideways squeeze pressure might affect it.

 

[mamabunny]

There is at least one new bus that the scooter has to be backed onto. If you are uncomfortable loading the scooter in either situation just ask the driver for help. When a scooter or wheelchair is left behind due to the spots being full, a message is sent to the Ops center so a different bus can be dispatched.

Hi - please don't take this the wrong way, but I'm wondering if there has been a miscommunication somewhere (maybe internally) at Disney? Maybe someone in Transportation who misunderstood something? (Not at all dismissing what you were told and understand to be true; I don't know if you have some relationship with Disney that would make you privy to information the public doesn't have)

I'm just curious.

The reason I say that is because currently virtually *all* scooters at some point are using reverse while parking on a Disney Resort bus. Unless Disney is changing the orientation of the parking spaces on the buses (from parallel, along the length of the bus - to perpendicular - so that a seated ECV rider looking straight out the back door would see the same direction as the ramp unfolds) anyone riding an ECV will still have to back up at some point during the parking process.

If an ECV rider backs into the bus while retaining the same orientation of the current parking it doesn't really solve any problem; most ECVs will still have to turn and drive "forward" into the bus for at least a small amount of space, and then back up again into the spot. Far from saving time or effort, I believe it would actually take longer to park the average ECV rider, only because we *all* go slower in reverse than we do going forward; unlike most vehicles we drive, typically we do not have rear view mirrors and/or cameras to aid us when backing up in an ECV.

There are already transportation options at Disney World where an ECV must back out, and those are the Monorail and the Skyliner. However in both of those cases, the ECV is driven straight in, and at the destination, reverses back out of the cabin.

I'm not asking you to divulge any information that may be part of your job, or to divulge sources - I certainly don't want to get anyone in trouble. But even if the driver could do their part of securing the device in less than 30 seconds, any time saved will be more than offset by the amount of time lost by backing an ECV up the ramp, and trying to maneuver into the parking space afterward...

 

[lanejudy]

The video does state that the US requires at least 1 forward-facing spot, so I assume that would continue to use the current tie-down and could board normally (driving forward) while 1 or more spots use the rear-facing Qstraint and back onto the bus. It seems to me like this adds a layer of complexity and potentially a lot of requests for "I want the forward-facing spot."

 

[SueM in MN]

Hi - please don't take this the wrong way, but I'm wondering if there has been a miscommunication somewhere (maybe internally) at Disney? Maybe someone in Transportation who misunderstood something? (Not at all dismissing what you were told and understand to be true; I don't know if you have some relationship with Disney that would make you privy to information the public doesn't have)

I'm just curious.

The reason I say that is because currently virtually *all* scooters at some point are using reverse while parking on a Disney Resort bus. Unless Disney is changing the orientation of the parking spaces on the buses (from parallel, along the length of the bus - to perpendicular - so that a seated ECV rider looking straight out the back door would see the same direction as the ramp unfolds) anyone riding an ECV will still have to back up at some point during the parking process.

If an ECV rider backs into the bus while retaining the same orientation of the current parking it doesn't really solve any problem; most ECVs will still have to turn and drive "forward" into the bus for at least a small amount of space, and then back up again into the spot. Far from saving time or effort, I believe it would actually take longer to park the average ECV rider, only because we *all* go slower in reverse than we do going forward; unlike most vehicles we drive, typically we do not have rear view mirrors and/or cameras to aid us when backing up in an ECV.

There are already transportation options at Disney World where an ECV must back out, and those are the Monorail and the Skyliner. However in both of those cases, the ECV is driven straight in, and at the destination, reverses back out of the cabin.

I'm not asking you to divulge any information that may be part of your job, or to divulge sources - I certainly don't want to get anyone in trouble. But even if the driver could do their part of securing the device in less than 30 seconds, any time saved will be more than offset by the amount of time lost by backing an ECV up the ramp, and trying to maneuver into the parking space afterward...

If the securement device is the one I found, guests would need to face rear to use it.
I am always very curious about technology solutions, so I read a lot about it. These screenshots are from QStraint (securement device manufacture) videos.
This drawing shows securement stations in both directions - front facing is the direction Disney buses currently use. There are no safe side facing positions for wheelchairs on buses.
Transit buses require both rear and front facing (if there was only one, passengers who get motion sickness facing backwards could never ride).

The screenshots from one of the videos show a city transit bus with both rear and front facing positions at the front of the bus. Since those kind of buses load everyone from the front, the rear facing position would require a lot less manouvering than the front facing one. The rear facing passenger would just need to drive past the space and back up enough to line up correctly. The front facing guy would have needed to turn completely around to get into position, but he had more space than Disney buses.



For buses with rear entry, like the Disney ones, backing up the ramp and into the bus might be difficult and time consuming, but maybe less time to manouver once in the bus. And, getting out would take less time -rear facing passengers just pull out forward to exit out the rear door. Front facing passengers need to make a full turn to drive out the back door.
So, even for Disney, the total time may be shorter.
Some of the videos show ECVs, so it is designed and safety tested for ECVs. That would be a big deal for Disney since ECVs don't really have good ways to be secured.

This last screenshot is the Quantum brochure.


CITY TRANSIT is much different than Disney buses. I rode city buses almost every day thru High School and College. People often rode the same bus at the same time every day with the same driver.

 

[tzvdmd]

Hi - please don't take this the wrong way, but I'm wondering if there has been a miscommunication somewhere (maybe internally) at Disney? Maybe someone in Transportation who misunderstood something? (Not at all dismissing what you were told and understand to be true; I don't know if you have some relationship with Disney that would make you privy to information the public doesn't have)

I'm just curious.

The reason I say that is because currently virtually *all* scooters at some point are using reverse while parking on a Disney Resort bus. Unless Disney is changing the orientation of the parking spaces on the buses (from parallel, along the length of the bus - to perpendicular - so that a seated ECV rider looking straight out the back door would see the same direction as the ramp unfolds) anyone riding an ECV will still have to back up at some point during the parking process.

If an ECV rider backs into the bus while retaining the same orientation of the current parking it doesn't really solve any problem; most ECVs will still have to turn and drive "forward" into the bus for at least a small amount of space, and then back up again into the spot. Far from saving time or effort, I believe it would actually take longer to park the average ECV rider, only because we *all* go slower in reverse than we do going forward; unlike most vehicles we drive, typically we do not have rear view mirrors and/or cameras to aid us when backing up in an ECV.

There are already transportation options at Disney World where an ECV must back out, and those are the Monorail and the Skyliner. However in both of those cases, the ECV is driven straight in, and at the destination, reverses back out of the cabin.

I'm not asking you to divulge any information that may be part of your job, or to divulge sources - I certainly don't want to get anyone in trouble. But even if the driver could do their part of securing the device in less than 30 seconds, any time saved will be more than offset by the amount of time lost by backing an ECV up the ramp, and trying to maneuver into the parking space afterward...

The issue is not time but drivers having their hands crushed when a guest moves a scooter during tiedown. It is the number 1 injury to bus drivers. From what I have heard the drivers load the scooters. The guests will not back onto the bus themselves.

 

[Euby]

Someone needs to design a bus that allows ECV and wheelchairs to roll straight in and out. If it can be done for a cargo plane... ooh maybe a double decker type bus...