Why no ticket system for Disney buses?

[SyracuseOrange]

FastPasses for buses is not really a great idea. If you absolutely MUST be somewhere at 6pm on the dot and you can't be bothered to give yourself extra time to get there just in case you have to (god forbid) wait for a bus, then you have every ability and right to schedule a taxi.

 

[mickeysshoes]

As said by others...dont like dont use it. Its really very simple!!! I dont mind the system the way it is...I have been to Disney 12 times now and if I find I dont want to wait for a bus I pay for a cab. Feel like you have been waiting too long for a bus...then the nexct bus to stop next to your stop all you have to do is pop over to the bus and ask the driver to check on your resorts bus and let him you its been XX amount of time and no bus has shown up. Most drivers are nice enougth to get on the radio and call it in.

 

[tractorm3]

What about the families who visit WDW? little ones? We are all in the parks and get tired from walking, some become sick, babies get cranky, heat exhaust us. By your system those people who need to leave wont be able to until their ticket time comes for a bus.

Sounds like a bad idea. sorry.

If anything perhaps Disney should look into adding a "interactive que" to some of the buss waiting areas or atleast some tv's about events for WDW. Help pass time. how about some vendors in that area?

 

[Lucky]

I can just picture a long line of people trying to board a bus, being held up by someone who's arguing with a bus driver over having the wrong ticket for the wrong time or whatever.

 

[bgraham34]

I can just picture a long line of people trying to board a bus, being held up by someone who's arguing with a bus driver over having the wrong ticket for the wrong time or whatever.

And you can bet that would most certainly happen. Its bad enough when you see guests yelling at bus drivers because their bus has not come yet.

 

[alawrence]

This has been briefly mentioned above, but the bus stops/routs are much like traffic. You plan for it, and it is not a problem at all. If you go to your resort bus stop for MK at 8:30 in the morning when the park opens at 9:00, there will be a line. When you try to leave MK directly after Wishes, there will be a wait... Every Time! Just like rush hour traffic happens every morning at the same time. Other than those two times of day, transportation is very light on the buses. Get on a bus at noon to go back to your resort, or leave your resort at 3 in the afternoon to go back to the parks, or to park hop. There will probably not be 10 other people on the bus with you. Simply avoid the "Rush Hour" bus times. Simple as that.

How would you control the tickets anyway? Do you know how many people make 30 dining reservations for their 4 day trip just to "Keep their options open?" Or, guests that take 10 FP's home with them that they never used? This is exactly why there are several more credit card deposits on dining reservations now. The bus tickets would be taken advantage of in the same way. It would either be a complete fail, or you would have to put some sort of deposit on them to guarantee your presence. Either way, the idea sucks.

 

[pixiesteno]

I like the fact that if I get tired of being in the parks or don't feel well or whatever that I can go to the bus stop, boat, monorail and leave. No ticket, no waiting for the appointed time. Yes, sometimes it seems like the bus you are waiting for is the last one to arrive and that you have been there "forever" but usually it is not really that long if you time it on a watch. Now, I know from these boards that there are just some places it seems to take a while to get to and from (DTD) so when we want to visit there, we pull out the truck keys and off we go. Or have it in our minds it may take longer.
I appreciate the fact that there is a relatively dependable bus system and that they are willing to transport my tired, overheated, sometimes crancky person to and from my resort. I also enjoy parts of the WDW transporation system, we purposely ride the resort monorail loop and Epcot loop, we like taking the boats to and from. To us it offers a little peace outside of what can be a hectic park. The last thing in the world I would want to have to keep track of is another form of "ticket" and not be able to leave until certain hours when I really want to go back to my resort.
As far as people with scooters or wheelchairs getting to the front of the line ... I don't know what kind of situation those folks are in and it is not for me to judge. I believe it is incumbant on me to try to demonstrate some empathy and put myself in someone eles' shoes; which is not hard to do if you keep in mind there will be another bus and WDW does not want to strand me at the parks overnight (I could just have too much fun). Also the CMs want to go home so they will bring a bus, of that I am sure.

 

[rsoxguy]

With all due respect, I think that the OP’s idea is idealistically inefficient. It is not wise to consider the WDW bus system as the equivalent of a private limousine service. The system may be slow and inefficient at times, but it still operates on a simple premise; wait in line, board the bus in an orderly fashion, go. The issue of people with disabilities is inconsequential, and does not apply to the OP’s premise. Most forms of public transportation deal with that issue, and it has little to do with the desire to reserve a spot on a given bus by anyone. One would still have to wait for the disabled person, regardless of any pass.

The system suggested by the OP would cause unnecessary delays for those waiting in line. The same system would also cause delays because of those who would argue that a pass for some time is the equivalent of a pass for all of the time (Consider the whole Fastpass “system change” debate for a clearer picture of this point). Additionally, this system would inevitably lead to complaints and perhaps even fights among hot, tired, and frustrated tourist who waited in line for half an hour, only to see Thurston and Lovey shuffling past the line for their reserved spot on the bus. Such a scenario is a problem that is much harder to manage than people solely complaining about a long wait in line. It does not make sense that Disney management would purposely switch from a slight problem (the current system), to a greater problem (the tourists screaming and fighting system).

 

[UPbeekeeper]

Additionally, this system would inevitably lead to complaints and perhaps even fights among hot, tired, and frustrated tourist who waited in line for half an hour, only to see Thurston and Lovey shuffling past the line for their reserved spot on the bus. Such a scenario is a problem that is much harder to manage than people solely complaining about a long wait in line. It does not make sense that Disney management would purposely switch from a slight problem (the current system), to a greater problem (the tourists screaming and fighting system).

I tend to agree with this. If I "choose" to wait in a hot, boring, monotonous line for an attraction in the parks, that is completely my option. Waiting in that same line for a bus to my resort is a necessity. If I feel that my time is too valuable for that, I will pay the premium of getting a taxi. I am grateful for free transportation.

 

[Mawg]

The poster has a legitimate complaint that Disney is aware of, and I don't think Disney wants anyone standing in lines when they can be spending money. However, this is not the solution they want to explore because it doesn't solve the problem it only means one person stands in line less long and now another person stands in line longer. The capacity is the issue. That's why they are looking and longer bendy busses.

 

[yellowb]

The solution is GPS monitoring of the buses. When I was last at WDW back during New Years, I asked one of the transportation CM's about the possibility, and was told it was a technology that they were exploring, but having difficulty implementing because of the number of vehicles in the fleet. There are a few college and university transportation departments that allow riders to see the locations of the buses so they know when to grab it.

 

[slappy magoo]

With all due respect, this is the dumbest idea I've seen in a long time, and I've seen Blues Brothers 2000.

Unlike the Fastpass system, which is supposed to evenly distribute people throughout the parks by spreading times throughout the day, far too many people want to be in park by opening, leave right after fireworks, have dinner reservations at dinner time, etc.

natron20 thinks bus reservations are a dandy idea because he assumes he'll get a reservation when he wants it. The first time he wants an 8am reservation to be at MK opening by 9, and he's told all the available reservation times are booked except 6:55 or 10:18, or when he's told he can't get a bus reservation to get back to his resort after the parks close until 11:15, he's gonna whine and complain about unfair it is, shooting daggers at everyone getting on the buses first from the not-shaded-enough Florida gulag that is...the standby line. It'd be hilarious!

 

[Tom]

The solution is GPS monitoring of the buses. When I was last at WDW back during New Years, I asked one of the transportation CM's about the possibility, and was told it was a technology that they were exploring, but having difficulty implementing because of the number of vehicles in the fleet. There are a few college and university transportation departments that allow riders to see the locations of the buses so they know when to grab it.

I may be wrong, but I'm 99.9% sure the buses already have GPS capabilities. That's how the announcements are automatically triggered.

However, it may be that they just don't use the GPS system to actually track buses.

The city of Lafayette, IN put in digital signs at some of their bus stops, specifically on Purdue's campus. They list the various lines that come through that stop (Silver, Gold, etc) and the minutes/seconds until it should arrive.

Disney's bus system is probably on par, or bigger, than the city of Lafayette's. And since WDW has no plans to expand the monorail, and they're investing in more buses - they should also invest in a tracking, routing and dispatching system that's more guest friendly.

If it's going to be another 20 minutes for my MK bus, at least put a sign up that tells me that. It makes the 20 minutes slightly more tolerable than sitting there wondering if you're ever going to see another bus.

 

[flynnibus]

Tracking the buses isn't the problem.. it's monitoring load and shifting capacity to meet it.

What disney needs is to track activity at the stations. They need to know when buses are at stations, and how much of a queue there is at a station (for for what destination the queue is for). That's why the basic radio system works if used. A bus can simply report what capacity is needed.. and the dispatchers can adapt the system to meet it.

The problem is it relies on people making the call. So that is what needs to be augmented.

Tracking a bus alone isn't enough..

 

[yellowb]

Sorry, I should have been more specific about the GPS. The buses already have GPS for WDW tracking. What I was referring to was an App or Web App that would show riders where the bus was. Like I mentioned, there are several places that utilize this technology so people aren't wasting valuable time waiting on a bus to arrive. There is nothing like getting to the bus stop, watching the previous bus to the Magic Kingdom ride away in the sunset, and wait 30 minutes for the next bus as you see three Animal Kingdom buses arrive in the mean time.

 

[Tom]

Tracking the buses isn't the problem.. it's monitoring load and shifting capacity to meet it.

What disney needs is to track activity at the stations. They need to know when buses are at stations, and how much of a queue there is at a station (for for what destination the queue is for). That's why the basic radio system works if used. A bus can simply report what capacity is needed.. and the dispatchers can adapt the system to meet it.

The problem is it relies on people making the call. So that is what needs to be augmented.

Tracking a bus alone isn't enough..

True. The ideal situation would be to add cameras to every depot on property. Hell, they can all be wireless and use the new property-wide wifi network - meaning MINIMAL cost.

The dispatch center could then monitor the queue for every destination, tell the computer where there is a line, and the computer re-routes a bus or dispatches one in holding, as required.

If they don't want to buy cameras, then they simply need to mandate that the drivers actually report in when they see a queue that's still at least 1 bus-full in length as they're pulling away. I'm not sure I've ever seen this happen while I've been near a driver.

 

[Rob562]

Sorry, I should have been more specific about the GPS. The buses already have GPS for WDW tracking. What I was referring to was an App or Web App that would show riders where the bus was. Like I mentioned, there are several places that utilize this technology so people aren't wasting valuable time waiting on a bus to arrive. There is nothing like getting to the bus stop, watching the previous bus to the Magic Kingdom ride away in the sunset, and wait 30 minutes for the next bus as you see three Animal Kingdom buses arrive in the mean time.

The problem with that is that most WDW buses don't run on set routes and schedules. They change schedules and dispatching depending on crowd requirements (in theory). Often times a bus arriving at the park doesn't know where it's going until they're told their next destination, either automatically through the MIMs system or manually via radio or van. They then enter the destination in the system and the signs change appropriately.

So while such a system might display some times accurately, other times it'll suddenly change times as a bus approaches and gets a new destination assignment.

-Rob

 

[slappy magoo]

True. The ideal situation would be to add cameras to every depot on property.

I was under the impression they already did this, and the reason you still sometimes eal with long waits is because of the leg time it takes to get a bus ready (if they're not literally in a holding pen warmed up, drivers at the ready, waiting to be told where to go).

 

[plaz10]

I thought this was gonna be that you have to show your room key or tickets to be able to access the busses. Not that you should get a ticket for busses...oh boy. bad idea.

 

[Uncle Lupe]

With all due respect, this is the dumbest idea I've seen in a long time, and I've seen Blues Brothers 2000.

That is a bold statement. Worse than Stitch's Supersonic Celebration?