Let the hate begin - Wheelchair only buses?

[michaelnyc]

First off, yes, I travel with a person in a wheelchair and am 100% the rights of the disabled
Second, when in school we petitioned and wrote to all of our politicians to have the Curb Cut Requirement Act of 1976 to be passed

So here goes, we normally travel every year to WDW for 15 days and my partner has had 3 back surgeries and 2 discs removed so by the second or third day he is wheelchair bound
We are only a party of two and use the wheelchair option when boarding the buses back and forth, often putting up with the stares and comments about wheelchair abusers

I have also been on the other end, standing in line for what feels like hours waiting for the bus and then a family of 50 comes along with one wheelchair and they fill half of the bus

Come one, we have all had this same feeling of people abusing the wheelchair system

Why not have a wheelchair only bus? Have one designated bus without any seats that can pick up the chairs and families all at once without delaying bus loading of other passengers?
The buses can have the floor locks like the buses here in NYC to hold the wheels in place.

As a wheelchair family I would more than welcome this, any else agree?

 

[Hakunamatata]

 

[jakeman]

First off, yes, I travel with a person in a wheelchair and am 100% the rights of the disabled
Second, when in school we petitioned and wrote to all of our politicians to have the Curb Cut Requirement Act of 1976 to be passed

So here goes, we normally travel every year to WDW for 15 days and my partner has had 3 back surgeries and 2 discs removed so by the second or third day he is wheelchair bound
We are only a party of two and use the wheelchair option when boarding the buses back and forth, often putting up with the stares and comments about wheelchair abusers

I have also been on the other end, standing in line for what feels like hours waiting for the bus and then a family of 50 comes along with one wheelchair and they fill half of the bus

Come one, we have all had this same feeling of people abusing the wheelchair system

Why not have a wheelchair only bus? Have one designated bus without any seats that can pick up the chairs and families all at once without delaying bus loading of other passengers?
The buses can have the floor locks like the buses here in NYC to hold the wheels in place.

As a wheelchair family I would more than welcome this, any else agree?

In theory, good idea. In practice, I don't believe it is practical. "Separate but equal" doesn't really ever work out well.

 

[Tom]

First off, yes, I travel with a person in a wheelchair and am 100% the rights of the disabled
Second, when in school we petitioned and wrote to all of our politicians to have the Curb Cut Requirement Act of 1976 to be passed

So here goes, we normally travel every year to WDW for 15 days and my partner has had 3 back surgeries and 2 discs removed so by the second or third day he is wheelchair bound
We are only a party of two and use the wheelchair option when boarding the buses back and forth, often putting up with the stares and comments about wheelchair abusers

I have also been on the other end, standing in line for what feels like hours waiting for the bus and then a family of 50 comes along with one wheelchair and they fill half of the bus

Come one, we have all had this same feeling of people abusing the wheelchair system

Why not have a wheelchair only bus? Have one designated bus without any seats that can pick up the chairs and families all at once without delaying bus loading of other passengers?
The buses can have the floor locks like the buses here in NYC to hold the wheels in place.

As a wheelchair family I would more than welcome this, any else agree?

I completely agree. I've even suggested it before on these boards. And it would be especially easy now that they're starting to roll out some new technology and MM+ integration.

If you're a wheelchair-bound guest, you could open your MDE App, and go to a section for Transportation, and tap a button that you need a bus to X. Since the app knows your location, based on GPS, 10 minutes later, a dedicated wheelchair bus pulls up to your resort (or a designated Wheelchair Bus spot at a park).

Maybe the bus is non-stop to your destination, or maybe it makes a couple other nearby stops. But either way, it's a huge service to those who need it, AND to the rest of the guests. It would also streamline the bus dispatch times/intervals, because they'd never be held up by a chair/ECV.

Meanwhile, you and your party gets "VIP" treatment and a nearly private bus.

 

[Tom]

In theory, good idea. In practice, I don't believe it is practical. "Separate but equal" doesn't really ever work out well.

I think it can ^^^see post above.

Especially now that they're beginning to roll out useful bus technology.

And maybe, to prevent abuse, the party has to get "approval" for use of the special bus at Guest Relations, just like with the park systems.

 

[lostpro9het]

As a wheelchair family I would more than welcome this, any else agree?

The only way I could see this working is if there was a fee associated with the use of the bus. I think it would be cost prohibitive for the Mouse to provide this type of bus for each resort. Even if they tried grouping some resorts together I would question if the numbers warrant it. Personally, I don't mind waiting for folks in need of wheelchair access on the bus. Sure it stinks when there may be a perceived abuser of the access but heck, I'm in the bubble and an extra 5-10 minutes aint gonna rain on my parade!

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

Why not have a wheelchair only bus?

Do you actually mean "a" wheelchair only bus (singular) or a fleet of wheelchair only buses ?

One bus would be useless

A fleet of wheelchair only buses would be so costly to run. I'm sure that Disney would probably have considered this and determined that the most effective way to transport wheelchair users is on the already utilised "kneeling" buses.
To utilise a fleet effectively would be down to how many guests (at any one time) wanted to visit one particular park. You would then be either running wheelchair only buses with only one or two wheelchairs on, or have the bus go around many resorts collecting passengers and then measuring travelling time to the parks in hours rather than minutes

 

[networkpro]

Why not have a wheelchair only bus? Have one designated bus without any seats that can pick up the chairs and families all at once without delaying bus loading of other passengers?
The buses can have the floor locks like the buses here in NYC to hold the wheels in place.

As a wheelchair family I would more than welcome this, any else agree?

That would beg the question of legally being allowed to have buses without wheelchair service which due to the Americans with Disabilities Act (commonly referred to as ADA) is not going to happen. Disney is required to provide wheelchair service on all of its buses. What your asking for are additional service routes with unique equipment which is contrary to ADA's goals of providing equal access to the common haulage. Seperate but equal doesn't fly.

 

[Master Yoda]

I completely agree. I've even suggested it before on these boards. And it would be especially easy now that they're starting to roll out some new technology and MM+ integration.

If you're a wheelchair-bound guest, you could open your MDE App, and go to a section for Transportation, and tap a button that you need a bus to X. Since the app knows your location, based on GPS, 10 minutes later, a dedicated wheelchair bus pulls up to your resort (or a designated Wheelchair Bus spot at a park).

Maybe the bus is non-stop to your destination, or maybe it makes a couple other nearby stops. But either way, it's a huge service to those who need it, AND to the rest of the guests. It would also streamline the bus dispatch times/intervals, because they'd never be held up by a chair/ECV.

Meanwhile, you and your party gets "VIP" treatment and a nearly private bus.

That would work great if the internet did not exist and your average person was not a self centered piece of horse whammy.

It would take only a matter of months before a significant chunk of Disney guests would show up with wheelchairs to score free private transportation effectively grinding the system to a halt.

About the only way I ever seeing this problem being resolved is when a bus can be designed with a loading system that would allow EVCs and wheelchairs in the same way they board walking passengers.

 

[ToInfinityAndBeyond]

Touchy topic. All of the reasons that have been mentioned previously, legal and otherwise, are good points.
Another point is how this would affect the bus system. For all of its faults (45 min to 1 hour-long waits during busy seasons at some resorts, etc.) the bus system is fairly cohesive. The system works because it can accommodate all types of guests and is fairly flexible. When you throw in a wild card like a specialized bus, it would throw a wrench in things.

One time, I was waiting on a bus to Epcot at Saratoga Springs for FOREVER. The number of people wanting to get on was enough for two buses, and we hadn't seen ONE in 30 minutes. This was 30-45 minutes before rope drop. Finally, a bus comes. Around the same time, a family of eight or so, with a person in a power chair, come strolling up to the stop. This family, combined with the family that already had a power chair ahead of us, was enough to fill up half of the bus. They got to skip to the front of the humongous line of people and there were just enough people that we would not fit onto the bus. About 15 people or so were asked to wait for the next bus. It came 25 minutes later.

We all just need to learn to be more patient and tolerant and allow extra travel time. Don't get me wrong, I have my fair share of stories where I felt like the current system failed, but when it works, it works well.

 

[vonpluto]

Back in the '80's, Disney did offer on-call, free, lift equipped vans. The were available thru Guest Services for resort and day guests. DW used this service for her handicapped sister in 1988 & 1989.
Of course WC use has exploded since then.

 

[halltd]

There are better buses on the market for loading and unloading wheelchairs. Some here in Gainesville load the wheelchairs from the front where everyone else goes in as well. The driver doesn't have to get out of their seat or anything. It's WAY more efficient than loading them from the back.

 

[Nero the dog]

They just need a different design of bus. Over here in the UK the buses are much lower so with a simple push of a button the suspension of the bus lowers to curb level, a small metal plate then extends out and the wheel chair can simply roll on. It takes seconds.

 

[ToInfinityAndBeyond]

It's hilarious how long it takes the buses to lower and extend the ramp. I laugh to myself every time it happens.

 

[jaklgreen]

Touchy topic. All of the reasons that have been mentioned previously, legal and otherwise, are good points.
Another point is how this would affect the bus system. For all of its faults (45 min to 1 hour-long waits during busy seasons at some resorts, etc.) the bus system is fairly cohesive. The system works because it can accommodate all types of guests and is fairly flexible. When you throw in a wild card like a specialized bus, it would throw a wrench in things.

One time, I was waiting on a bus to Epcot at Saratoga Springs for FOREVER. The number of people wanting to get on was enough for two buses, and we hadn't seen ONE in 30 minutes. This was 30-45 minutes before rope drop. Finally, a bus comes. Around the same time, a family of eight or so, with a person in a power chair, come strolling up to the stop. This family, combined with the family that already had a power chair ahead of us, was enough to fill up half of the bus. They got to skip to the front of the humongous line of people and there were just enough people that we would not fit onto the bus. About 15 people or so were asked to wait for the next bus. It came 25 minutes later.

We all just need to learn to be more patient and tolerant and allow extra travel time. Don't get me wrong, I have my fair share of stories where I felt like the current system failed, but when it works, it works well.

Well they are supposed to only load the wheelchair/ecv person and up to 3 people. The rest of the party is supposed to go to the end of the line and meet up with their party. IDK why Disney does not enforce this especially with how many more people are using these things now. Plus it would be nice if they only loaded 1 ecv on a bus but I can see how this would separate some couples that are both users.

 

[wendysue]

Regarding the "tapping of your phone, etc to order a bus".....many people do not have smart phones.

 

[Chef Mickey]

Regarding the "tapping of your phone, etc to order a bus".....many people do not have smart phones.

They don't?

 

[Chef Mickey]

Well they are supposed to only load the wheelchair/ecv person and up to 3 people. The rest of the party is supposed to go to the end of the line and meet up with their party. IDK why Disney does not enforce this especially with how many more people are using these things now. Plus it would be nice if they only loaded 1 ecv on a bus but I can see how this would separate some couples that are both users.

Thank you for posting this. This might be the "policy" but it is rarely enforced and you certainly can't rely on the party to be considerate of other guests.

 

[ToInfinityAndBeyond]

Well they are supposed to only load the wheelchair/ecv person and up to 3 people. The rest of the party is supposed to go to the end of the line and meet up with their party. IDK why Disney does not enforce this especially with how many more people are using these things now. Plus it would be nice if they only loaded 1 ecv on a bus but I can see how this would separate some couples that are both users.

I am actually aware of this policy. Unfortunately, as you stated, it isn't widely enforced. You can see the internal struggle on some of the driver's faces, though. I remember that driver being overwhelmed by the number of people trying to cram into his bus.

 

[The Mom]

You may discuss whether a fleet of designated buses may or may not work. You may not discuss who may or may not use them, nor relay personal experiences about waiting for a bus. Thank you.