How do disney bus drivers afford to live on 10 bucks an hour?

[ssidiouss@mac.c]

Is it that much cheaper to live in florida then up here in PA? I was checking out the disney bus drivers during my last vacation and realized that they are not all old retirees but some younger and middle aged people working full time which had me wonder how they afford to live on 10 bucks an hour. Is it full paid benefits?

I would love to drive the busses down there.. seems like a blast.. making dreams come true and all that.. but I just dont know how you survive on such a low salary. I mean is it possible to afford a place to live, food, toiletries, car/insurance, and bills on that? I would think its impossible.. but i see these bus drivers there.. happy and all.. and can't help but wonder how they do it.

 

[Hrudey3032]

My dad just retired from buses last june/july and he was paid around 11.30(after 6 years) when he left.He worked 40-45 hours a week but like alot of the drivers he was retired from another job and got his pension.He was a Sheriff Deputy here in Indy for 27 years and retired at 56 so he was/is still in his middle age(my dad looks like he is 40 hope I get those genes at that age!) Alot of people do it for fun and spending money like my dad did.I met many bus drivers while he was there and trust me alot of them don't love the behind the scenes Disney company but love the parks and being around those who also love the parks.The other thing is they dont pay state taxes in Florida so paychecks are a bit higher.

 

[mkt]

I was able to survive for less as a CM, but to be honest, I don't know how I did it. I had a considerable amount of debt at one point, I did without some items which I considered luxuries at the time, I worked a TON of overtime whenever I could (70+ hours some weeks), asked my family for help, and did some dishonest things I'm not too proud of, like finding ways to make my personal injuries/illnesses work related, thus forcing Disney to foot the medical bill, offering CM perks at a charge (ie- I sold my comps and maingate uses to the highest bidder), joined an eBay business which involved CM's purchasing things at discount and reselling them at just under retail (or quite a bit more regarding some collectibles), and a small bit of theft of work supplies (very small, but I'm not proud nonetheless).

This was cathartic

 

[gardenia]

We don't have the heating bills you folks have in PA ;-). Food and gas are cheaper (but not much). There's no state income tax and the sales tax is relatively low. Most WDW jobs are union, which means better benefits than your local fast food place. So for some folks these jobs are attractive.

 

[piglet*florida]

So bus drivers start out making $10 an hour? How about other transportation, like boat drivers? Or monorail drivers? Do bus drivers work 8 hour days?

 

[mkt]

Boat Drivers and Monorail Drivers start out at considerably less.

 

[DisneyPirate85]

IRONY.....goes from Retired Marion Cnty to thieving to survive.:lookaroun NOW thats full scope of things, Not being a jerk just noticing the irony.

 

[Hrudey3032]

IRONY.....goes from Retired Marion Cnty to thieving to survive.:lookaroun NOW thats full scope of things, Not being a jerk just noticing the irony.

I'm not sure what you mean by this statement.:shruglease explain a little better for me. Thanks

 

[s8film40]

When working for Disney most people qualify for for government funded low income housing. There are quite a few of these types of apartment complexes set up around the perimeters of the Disney property. You simply have to show them your Disney paycheck to prove your low income and you get a reduced rate compared to other regular apartment complexes. These are actually fairly nice places and are occupied by almost all Disney employees, in fact there's even one right behind the Magic Kingdom and I know of at least a few bus drivers who ride their bikes to work from there to save gas as well.

 

[Hrudey3032]

My dad never used any funding whatsoever as he had a home well before being at Disney and his pension checks from Sheriff Dept were what supported him.Disney was for fun money and things he and my stepmom wanted to do.

 

[joel_maxwell]

I was able to survive for less as a CM, but to be honest, I don't know how I did it. I had a considerable amount of debt at one point, I did without some items which I considered luxuries at the time, I worked a TON of overtime whenever I could (70+ hours some weeks), asked my family for help, and did some dishonest things I'm not too proud of, like finding ways to make my personal injuries/illnesses work related, thus forcing Disney to foot the medical bill, offering CM perks at a charge (ie- I sold my comps and maingate uses to the highest bidder), joined an eBay business which involved CM's purchasing things at discount and reselling them at just under retail (or quite a bit more regarding some collectibles), and a small bit of theft of work supplies (very small, but I'm not proud nonetheless).

This was cathartic

this sounds like your first confessional.... to which the priest would suggest the Beatitude's

at least, that is what he made me do.

 

[Jellyfish]

Our NMW [National Minimum Wage] is:

What are the current rates of the national minimum wage?
There are three levels of minimum wage, and the rates from 1st October 2007 are:

• £5.52 per hour for workers aged 22 years and older
• A development rate of £4.60 per hour for workers aged 18-21 inclusive
• £3.40 per hour for all workers under the age of 18, who are no longer of *compulsory school age.

*no longer compulsory school age-16 if choosen not to go to college

And your stuff over there is so much cheaper (when converted to Sterling) than ours, but it still sucks.