Disney Bus Maintenance Issues

[Andrew25]

Not sure if this is the right location, feel free to move.

I visit WDW pretty often, every few days or so, and I've noticed an absurd amount of Disney buses stranded on the side of the road due to what I presume are maintenance issues. Is Disney really suffering this bad maintenance-wise resort-wide?

Are these cost-cutting measures? Poor staffing?

 

[jloucks]

Not sure if this is the right location, feel free to move.

I visit WDW pretty often, every few days or so, and I've noticed an absurd amount of Disney buses stranded on the side of the road due to what I presume are maintenance issues. Is Disney really suffering this bad maintenance-wise resort-wide?

Are these cost-cutting measures? Poor staffing?

Maybe just a holding pattern to stay on schedule? I see school buses doing this all the time around the neighborhood.

 

[Andrew25]

Maybe just a holding pattern to stay on schedule? I see school buses doing this all the time around the neighborhood.

I'm referring to buses literally stuck on the side of World Drive with maintenance crews.

 

[DisneyFanatic12]

I'm referring to buses literally stuck on the side of World Drive with maintenance crews.

Disney obviously has their new fleet, but they seem to be phasing out the old fleet by driving them until they die. They have plenty of buses that will work reliably, but they want to get as many miles on the old ones as possible. That’s how it was explained to me as to why there are so many of the new buses just sitting in the bus yard. Might not be accurate, but it sounds plausible.

 

[Goofyernmost]

As a past bus driver and also in management at a municipal busing company, I can tell you that nothing will create as much havoc as heat. It takes more power to run the AC and because of the numbers of people and the number of times that the doors have to open and close it can cause many problems, from overheating to equipment like AC compressors to wave the white flag of surrender. Old or new are susceptible to those problems, in fact, many of the newer ones will be more of a problem as the engines and assorted pumps and other parts need to seat in properly. It will likely happen to older buses more often, but at the time they leave the "barn", so to speak, they are working just fine. You do want to use the old fleet up before you start the process with the new ones but you can't fix something until it breaks. An older "broke in" bus is actually more reliable than a new untested one. Those buses put thousands and thousands of miles on every year and if you take that into consideration you can see that they have very few problems.

 

[Lilofan]

As a past bus driver and also in management at a municipal busing company, I can tell you that nothing will create as much havoc as heat. It takes more power to run the AC and because of the numbers of people and the number of times that the doors have to open and close it can cause many problems, from overheating to equipment like AC compressors to wave the white flag of surrender. Old or new are susceptible to those problems, in fact, many of the newer ones will be more of a problem as the engines and assorted pumps and other parts need to seat in properly. It will likely happen to older buses more often, but at the time they leave the "barn", so to speak, they are working just fine. You do want to use the old fleet up before you start the process with the new ones but you can't fix something until it breaks. An older "broke in" bus is actually more reliable than a new untested one. Those buses put thousands and thousands of miles on every year and if you take that into consideration you can see that they have very few problems.

One hot summer I saw approx 50 guests standing on the side of the road with the
cast member bus driver with the broken bus next to them at WDW. That did not seem like fun.

 

[DisneyFanatic12]

One hot summer I saw approx 50 guests standing on the side of the road with the
cast member bus driver with the broken bus next to them at WDW. That did not seem like fun.

They get a replacement bus there quickly (sometimes not even ten minutes) and guests usually get some pretty nice perks. This could range from a free park ticket, $300+ gift card, or a free night at a resort.

Doesn’t make it any less of an inconvenience, but Disney does generally help guests who face these issues.

 

[Goofyernmost]

One hot summer I saw approx 50 guests standing on the side of the road with the
cast member bus driver with the broken bus next to them at WDW. That did not seem like fun.

It isn't... did someone actually say that it would be? Doesn't matter really, what does is that a bus is a machine with many, many moving parts. Man made equipment is subject to failure. The measure is how often does it actually happen that is important. It's not uncommon for people to see a piece of machinery broken down, it's how often is it seen by the same people? I'd guess not often.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Disney obviously has their new fleet, but they seem to be phasing out the old fleet by driving them until they die. They have plenty of buses that will work reliably, but they want to get as many miles on the old ones as possible. That’s how it was explained to me as to why there are so many of the new buses just sitting in the bus yard. Might not be accurate, but it sounds plausible.

There has never been a bus made that you can rely on 100%. Moving parts, remember! New buses will break down but are probably less likely, to a small degree, than older proven buses might. However, they are not dumb enough than to send out a broken bus. One that has a problem while in service is only going to be parked if the maintenance department is run by a person that can see into future. Arm chair maintenance folk need to also be aware that those buses cost about 600K each. They expect to get hundreds of thousands mile on each on them to justify the cost. In between the purchase and the retirement, they have been painted at least three time, gone through countless tires, at least one or more engines/transmission repairs or replacement, massive amounts of fuel and thousands of other minor repairs along with suspension and brake replacements. I would guess that in the 15+ years (I don't know for sure what Disney expects to get from each one) they expect to use the buses, I'd venture they have dumped a Million bucks in each one, including the purchase price. Of course, you are going to try and get the most usage out of the buses that they can. A bus that has become unreliable will not stay in the active fleet very long.

 

[DisneyFanatic12]

There has never been a bus made that you can rely on 100%. Moving parts, remember! New buses will break down but are probably less likely, to a small degree, than older proven buses might.

Less related question you might know the answer to: Do the drivers (likely) know where they’re going the whole day or do the learn once they stop? How can they tell when a bus will get somewhere before even dispatching it?

 

[Goofyernmost]

Less related question you might know the answer to: Do the drivers (likely) know where they’re going the whole day or do the learn once they stop? How can they tell when a bus will get somewhere before even dispatching it?

From my recollection all major bus systems (WDW is one of those) operate on something called a "paddle". It is usually bid upon by seniority and is a fixed weekly series of routes. It might be different from day to day, but there is one for each day of the week. Sometimes it is exactly the same everyday most of the time not. It would be a colossal mess without it. There might be some routes that are the same all day, (i.e Magic Kingdom to POP Century. for example, probably not) but not often because the causes a lot of fatigue with drivers, so mostly they go from one place to a different route all day long. The "Paddle" is the historic name for bus itinerary. If a bus breaks down, dispatch might alter the routes of a couple drivers to make sure that no one has to wait longer than necessary. Those are the places that the broken bus was supposed to go next after completing whatever route they are on. It is a huge complex process that eventually gets every driver back on schedule. Those that are critical of how the bus system works are the ones that do not understand how complex the system is. Complex but it works quite well to keep everyone moving even if it might be a tad late. I should add that those individual schedules almost always allow for some stand by in the event there is a breakdown they can get to it quickly and not have to disrupt other routes to come the the rescue.

The itinerary is called Paddle because back when buses were made of stone, the driver would drive up to dispatch and would be handed their daily itinerary from the dispatcher on a wooden paddle (similar to a pizza peel) lifted up to the drivers window. Now the routes are determined and set up for a weekly schedule, usually different everyday but not always. When I started all those complex route setups were generated by computer programs.

 

[jloucks]

I'm referring to buses literally stuck on the side of World Drive with maintenance crews.

Certainly, if there is a maintenance crew on site, there is a maintenance issue. I missed that somehow.

Maybe mobile maintnence crews are cheaper than static crews? I'm just guessing. ...but mobileseems more expensive than static.

From my recollection all major bus systems (WDW is one of those) operate on something called a "paddle". It is usually bid upon by seniority and is a fixed weekly series of routes. It might be different from day to day, but there is one for each day of the week. Sometimes it is exactly the same everyday most of the time not. It would be a colossal mess without it. There might be some routes at are the same all day, (i.e Magic Kingdom to POP Century) but not often because the causes a lot of fatigue with drivers, so mostly the go from one place to a different route all day long. The "Paddle" is the historic name for bus itinerary. If a bus breaks down, dispatch might alter the routes of a couple drivers to make sure that no one has to wait longer than necessary. Those are the places that the broken bus was supposed to go next after completing whatever route they are on. It is a huge complex process that eventually gets every driver back on schedule. Those that are critical of how the bus system works are the ones that do not understand how complex the system is. Complex but it works quite well to keep everyone moving even if it might be a tad late. I should add that those individual schedules almost always allow for some stand by in the event there is a breakdown they can get to it quickly and not have to disrupt other routes to come the the rescue.

The itinerary is called Paddle because back when buses were made of stone, the driver would drive up to dispatch and would be handed their daily itinerary from the dispatcher on a wooden paddle (similar to a pizza peel) lifted up to the drivers window. Now the routes are determined and set up for a weekly schedule, usually different everyday but not always. When I started all those complex route setups are generated by computer programs.

Huh, how about that? I went and learned something today.

 

[Tiki Traveler]

When we visited in Nov. 22 many of the busses we rode seemed to have issues w/the scooter lifts. The bus driver would have to try again, and again, and again, etc. to get the lift to open or close. We were the third stop on Riverside (East) but considered getting off at the first stop (West) because it did not seem the bus driver would ever get the lift working so the bus could continue. I don’t remember so many problems (or any, honestly) w/the lifts before Covid. Felt sorry for the people who depended on them. Probably a small % of busses but we encountered it enough to become aware of it.

 

[JoeCamel]

Less related question you might know the answer to: Do the drivers (likely) know where they’re going the whole day or do the learn once they stop? How can they tell when a bus will get somewhere before even dispatching it?

I think @wdwdriver or some handle like that who is working posted how the routes are bid and assigned but I haven't looked for the post. It was pretty through

 

[Ricky Spanish]

They get a replacement bus there quickly (sometimes not even ten minutes) and guests usually get some pretty nice perks. This could range from a free park ticket, $300+ gift card, or a free night at a resort.

Doesn’t make it any less of an inconvenience, but Disney does generally help guests who face these issues.

Once, our Disney bus was involved in a minor accident.
We received a free ride on another Disney bus!

 

[Br0ckford]

Maybe that's why attendance has been down. Can't get to the park if the bus is broken down. It really was the heat.

 

[MAGICFLOP]

Disney needs Electric buses and 5 giant wind turbines to power them.. Disney needs to get off Fossil fuels..

 

[JoeCamel]

Disney needs Electric buses and 5 giant wind turbines to power them.. Disney needs to get off Fossil fuels..

Maybe they could run hydrogen, it's so stable.......

 

[DisneyFanatic12]

Disney needs Electric buses and 5 giant wind turbines to power them.. Disney needs to get off Fossil fuels..

I actually think they could get a sponsorship pretty soon for electric busses. It would be extremely beneficial to the brand sponsoring, because many potential buyers would want to see an actually functional line of their electric busses already somewhere else. Waaay to expensive, but a wireless charging road would be pretty interesting if there are companies that make them that are willing to sponsor…

Current buses are fossil fuel though! Pretty interesting technology. The trains are supposed to be biodiesel as well.


Electric cars and electric busses need more proof of concept and proof of functionality in the real world. Disney wouldn’t want to be one of the first to pay for an electric bus fleet at full price, but a nice discount and sponsorship might give both parties involved a nice benefit. Disney some publicity and the sponsor word of mouth and proof of concept.

 

[Goofyernmost]

When we visited in Nov. 22 many of the busses we rode seemed to have issues w/the scooter lifts. The bus driver would have to try again, and again, and again, etc. to get the lift to open or close. We were the third stop on Riverside (East) but considered getting off at the first stop (West) because it did not seem the bus driver would ever get the lift working so the bus could continue. I don’t remember so many problems (or any, honestly) w/the lifts before Covid. Felt sorry for the people who depended on them. Probably a small % of busses but we encountered it enough to become aware of it.

Yes, those (insert your own curse word here) lifts were always a perpetual problem. When they started designing them they were quite complex and fancy. They would look like regular steps into the bus but when activated would unfold to a straight platform and lower to the ground. Then lift up level to the bus floor level and after the wheelchair or scooter was move off you would push a button and like magic the lift turned into the stairs again. They were cool to see operate but were a royal pain in the butt to keep operating. You want to see a problem. Have one of those lifts freeze up when the person and was halfway between the ground and the bus floor when the temperature was around -10F. Good times!

Those were replaced by ugly units that were only one dimensional. They were standing straight up when not in use and then drop down to floor level, then to ground then back up, discharge passenger and the move straight up. Nowhere near as pretty, but much more reliable because of fewer moving parts. Today most of the buses ride much lower to the ground and they are actually just fold up ramps that become part of the bus floor when not being used. Those almost never failed and were much less anxiety laden for the person needing to use them. Even if the mechanical parts of those new ones failed they could easily be folded in and out by hand. Again, those things were what came with the buses and they either worked or they didn't, but in all fairness they all, even from the beginning were amazingly reliable, but once in awhile crap happens. Sometimes it happens in bunches. Such is life!