Do most subway systems in major cities have signs on the side of the escalator which ask people to stand on the right and pass on the left?
I know London has them - something which likely accounts for Londoner’s custom of standing on the right on every escalator in the city.
What other cities have these signs? Have there ever been fights on escaltors between those who clog up the left side (thinking that it’s a ride) and those who actually like to use their legs?
– jdl
From Washington DC: People keep saying that there are signs posted in our Metro system stating this rule. I’ve seen signs about escalator safety (hold children’s hands, be careful with loose clothing, etc.), but reading the whole schpiel, I saw nothing about stand-on-the-right-walk-on-the-left.
New York doesn’t bother with signs. We haven’t had to deal with complete social upheaval and citywide revolution over the problem, yet.
Irritated and noisy throat-clearing usually gets the message I WANT TO GO PAST YOU over pretty quickly.
Uke
I am sure I have seen the sign in DC but the last time I made an effort to look for one I couldn’t find any. In any event it seems like 99.9% of metro passengers know to do this. What amazes me is not those who feel the need to keep moving even tho the escalator is already moving, but the ones who feel the need to RUN up & down the escalator even though there is clearly no train anywhere close to the platform, or even if there is there will be another coming along about one minute after that one pulls away. I wish I had such a wonderful job that I had to run to work every morning.
We have “Stand Right/Walk Left” signs on just about every escalator in the Toronto Transit System. We also have a record number of transit users who add “Oh, they don’t mean ME” to the suggestion. (These are the same people who run for the subway as the doors are closing and get pissed that they missed the train.) Ah, human nature, you are such a bastard!
With God as my witness, I thought turkey’s could fly.
Here in Amsterdam there are no signs, people stand all over the place making it almost impossible to get up or down escalators under your own steam.
Not for nothing, snickerdoodle, but that’s not the lack of proper signage, that’s the heroin. 
Cartooniverse
" If you want to kiss the sky, you’d better learn how to kneel "
Signs or not, if I am in a hurry and you are lolly-gagging on the left side of the escalator, I WILL run you over.
Yer pal,
Satan
Chicago’s O’Hare airport has stand right/walk left signs on the moving sidewalks, but I’ve never checked the escalators. When I was in Germany (many years ago) I noticed they had signs.
“I should not take bribes and Minister Bal Bahadur KC should not do so either. But if clerks take a bribe of Rs 50-60 after a hard day’s work, it is not an issue.” ----Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, Current Prime Minister of Nepal
Now how do you know that? Do you sit around the subway taking notes or something?
We don’t have subways here in Michigan (buy a car, dammit, Detroit needs you!), but on store escalators, I’m holding my young sons hands so they don’t trip. Escalators aren’t wide enough to get by.
It is too clear, and so it is hard to see.
I can’t remember if the Madrid metro escalators have “stand right/walk left” signs, but people generally do anyway.
At the LAs Vegas airport they have not only signs saying this, they have recorded announcements by local acts. (Andrew Dice Clay: “Hey! Be cool! Stand to the right and pass on the left!” – I kid you not.)
Hey there, ZenBeam. For the past 7 years, I’ve had to ride the subway, twice a day, 5 days a week to get to work. With that kind of experience, you don’t have to “sit there and take notes”, you live it!
With God as my witness, I thought turkey’s could fly.
Question: In england to they stand left, walk right?
Voguevixon just reminded me:
The Chicago airport also has an announcement playing. It just says something very simple like, “please stand to the right”, but it’s in this really creepy voice. It sounds like a female android–completely devoid of expression and very ethereal.
“I should not take bribes and Minister Bal Bahadur KC should not do so either. But if clerks take a bribe of Rs 50-60 after a hard day’s work, it is not an issue.” ----Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, Current Prime Minister of Nepal
Satan:
Does this have anything to do with the discription you gave earlier in the year about commuter sprawl.
Jebediah,
Us Brits stand right, walk left.
There was another thread recently about this, but I’ll leave you the pleasure of finding it!
In the bathtub of history, the truth is harder to hold than the soap… (Pratchett)
Here in Barcelona there are no stand-right, walk-left signs for the subway escalators, but most people do it anyway. I just got back from a quick vacation in London on Thursday and can confirm that tube stations do have stand-right, walk-left signs on the escalators–though confusingly enough the stairs are down-left, up-right if you’re going down, and up-left, down-right if you’re going up, and are so indicated with railings between them. That is, you ascend and descend stairs on the left rather than on the right, as we tend to do in America and most of Europe.
Every moving sidewalk I have ever seen, most of them in airports, has a stand-right, walk-left sign.
Here on the BART system (SF Bay Area), I’ve never seen such a sign, but folks (mostly) have been able to figure this out on their own. Note, I say “mostly.”
StoryTyler
I am too in shape! :::muttering::: Round is a shape.
C’mon up and see me sometime.