New buses coming in early 2024 - ECV restrictions

[SteveMouse]

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As for weight limit, I would hope they equip the buses with equipment with at least a 1,500 lb weight limit and advertise a substantially lower weight limit like 800 lbs. There are a couple of reasons behind this:

1. There will always be people who will lie about their total weight.
2. If they install equipment say rated at 800 lbs and advertise 800 lbs, it won't be durable enough given the amount of use the equipment will get. Remember these devices are designed for public transit where the routes will see 2 or 3 wheelchair users all day given the lengths of the routes, number of times each bus travels the route, etc. At Disney World, they will likely have 30+ mobility users per bus throughout the day given the frequency and number of people who use mobility devices, so they need to massively overdo it, otherwise there is going to be constantly broken equipment.

The design requirement for longer ramps is 600 pounds, with the ability to support 1,800. Here's a link to the Federal Transit Administration's FAQ on the issue: https://www.transit.dot.gov/how-much-weight-must-vehicle-lift-be-able-accommodate

 

[starlite_]

No it doesn't imply that Disney is responsible for it at all, it implies that there are ways the rental companies can make them lighter.

This is what you said:

So, there are definitely steps that can be taken to go lighter and one would hope that Disney would go more than the bare minimum, it not too confident in that considering the way they have gone as of late, it does seem that their new key of "inclusiveness" doesn't always cover those with disabilities or those of size as of late, hopefully this turns out to be the start of Disney correcting that though.

That's what I don't understand. You are talking about ways that rental companies can make ECVs lighter to comply to the new requirements but then finish saying that Disney should do more than the bare minimum.

 

[Evita_W]

This is what you said:


That's what I don't understand. You are talking about ways that rental companies can make ECVs lighter to comply to the new requirements but then finish saying that Disney should do more than the bare minimum.

Ah, I forget that proper grammar can be difficult to read, sorry should have been clearer I guess rather than concise, there are clearly two separate items, again when taken in full context it should be easy to understand that the point is that one would hope that Disney would go more than the bare minimum on weight capacity, ADA would state bare minimum must be 600 lbs, but one would hope that Disney would go beyond that. Again, all things in context, sorry for the confusion.

 

[Evita_W]

The design requirement for longer ramps is 600 pounds, with the ability to support 1,800. Here's a link to the Federal Transit Administration's FAQ on the issue: https://www.transit.dot.gov/how-much-weight-must-vehicle-lift-be-able-accommodate

Ok, then I take that back, one would hope that Disney would put ramps in that can accommodate 1,800 lbs with a safety factor of three times that (5,400 lbs) to ensure longevity of the equipment.

 

[tseitel]

This backing up on buses sounds awful.

Some time ago, there was a thread that you now needed to back up on the monorail. Did that occur?

We were there in October. I did see them making people back into the monorail at the Contemporary, but not at the other stops.

 

[Groot]

Also, if they’re getting new buses, is the ramp going to be in the middle (like it is now) or is it gonna be in the front (which has a tighter turning point because of the driver seat)?

 

[Evita_W]

Also, if they’re getting new buses, is the ramp going to be in the middle (like it is now) or is it gonna be in the front (which has a tighter turning point because of the driver seat)?

DH and I have maintained that they should have ramps in both locations and you come in the middle and out the front, turning wise this works well and makes loading and unloading easy.

 

[DisneyOma]

DH and I have maintained that they should have ramps in both locations and you come in the middle and out the front, turning wise this works well and makes loading and unloading easy.

And if one ramp won't work, at least there's another one.

 

[BillSears]

I'm at WDW right now and I spoke with a Bud Driver today. She said they were having an issue with the arms that press in to hold the ECV steady. When they use those arms on a folding wheelchair it folds up the wheelchair with the person inside! She also said that the buses have 2 spots for ECVs with the automatic arms and 1 spot for wheelchairs with the regular tie downs.

I haven't seen the new buses yet so I can't say for sure. But it might be an improvement if it can hold 2 ECVs and a wheelchair.

 

[Evita_W]

Well, that doesn't sound like a pleasant experience for the person in the folding wheelchair.

The bigger question is what size mobility devices they can accommodate and if there are weight limits

 

[SteveMouse]

There may be a need to remind Disney leadership of their five keys- "inclusion" and "safety" being highly relevant here.

 

[SL6827]

There may be a need to remind Disney leadership of their five keys- "inclusion" and "safety" being highly relevant here.

$$$$$ trumps them all.

 

[Groot]

Well, I found this video:

 

[mamabunny]

Just returned from the week following Thanksgiving.

Did confirm with a bus driver on the AKL/MK route that 100 new buses have been ordered. He said that the system to hold the scooters in place was "really cool" but when I asked about wheelchair users, and specifically folding chairs, he said that he had not yet seen any training personally, only had heard from drivers who had.

I am hopeful that the we won't be backing UP a ramp to get into the bus, but rather onto a platform that would lift the device + user to bus level. That would make sense, and fit into the context of what we are hearing. Once you were at bus level, then backing into the securing device would probably be fairly easy. Where I (and others, I am sure) have a problem is that I can no longer easily turn to look over my shoulder while backing; I am reliant on others to give me verbal cues when I am backing.

 

[Groot]

Just returned from the week following Thanksgiving.

Did confirm with a bus driver on the AKL/MK route that 100 new buses have been ordered. He said that the system to hold the scooters in place was "really cool" but when I asked about wheelchair users, and specifically folding chairs, he said that he had not yet seen any training personally, only had heard from drivers who had.

I am hopeful that the we won't be backing UP a ramp to get into the bus, but rather onto a platform that would lift the device + user to bus level. That would make sense, and fit into the context of what we are hearing. Once you were at bus level, then backing into the securing device would probably be fairly easy. Where I (and others, I am sure) have a problem is that I can no longer easily turn to look over my shoulder while backing; I am reliant on others to give me verbal cues when I am backing.

I highly doubt that the new buses are going to have lifts instead of ramps.

The current buses that Disney uses right now are Gillig Advantage, (which have been discontinued) and are LOW FLOOR buses (they have about 350 of em in the fleet).


IIRC, they also use “Articulated Buses” (which have the two halves connected in the middle by a piece that looks like it was taken off of an accordion.) in between some of the All-Star hotels.


The main reason that they switched to low-floor buses vs. the old buses from the 90’s that had the steps that transformed into a wheelchair lift (remember those? How fun.) was if there was something wrong with the lift, it would render that bus unusable and if the bus was in service at the time, they would have to call out another one from the garage and possibly tow the broken bus back to the shop. With low-floor buses, if, let’s say, the ramp wouldn’t deploy, all the driver would have to do is take out a special key or a flathead screwdriver and wedge it underneath until it flips up. Plus, only having to negotiate ONE STEP vs. 3 or 4 with a “High-Floor” bus (the kind that has a lift) is a major relief to those with canes, other mobility issues, and parents with strollers (which nowadays might as well as count as a small car considering how big they are now).

Yeah… this is what Googling at 4am does to your brain…

 

[SteveMouse]

....

I am hopeful that the we won't be backing UP a ramp to get into the bus, but rather onto a platform that would lift the device + user to bus level. That would make sense, and fit into the context of what we are hearing. Once you were at bus level, then backing into the securing device would probably be fairly easy. Where I (and others, I am sure) have a problem is that I can no longer easily turn to look over my shoulder while backing; I am reliant on others to give me verbal cues when I am backing.

Lifts are more complex than ramps and take longer to deploy/use. I don't think we will see them on any new "city" buses.

 

[FastPasser.]

And if one ramp won't work, at least there's another one.

As previously stated ramps can be deployed and returned to the stored position manually.

 

[FastPasser.]

As a long time former WDW bus driver I have to say that you should take whatever you hear from a bus driver with a grain of salt.

If the part about having to back up on to the bus is accurate, that’s scary, driving forwards can be a challenge for some inexperienced ECV users.

New buses have always been phased in gradually. In the past they’ve updated the existing buses if a new ECV restraining system was introduced.

The last of the WDW buses with lifts are gone.

 

[Lewisc]

Well, I found this video:

The driver stays in his seat. The pax drives the scooter into the position and presses a button. The driver pushes a lock button up front.

This might work for what %? 10% at best?

 

[SteveMouse]

The driver stays in his seat. The pax drives the scooter into the position and presses a button. The driver pushes a lock button up front.

This might work for what %? 10% at best?

That likely won't work for me- I have a very limited range of motion and am unlikely to be able to reach the button.