# Escalator etiquette **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 8, 1999, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/escalator-etiquette/9242 "1999-12-08T21:29:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Timothy\_Campbell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Timothy\_Campbell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Timothy_Campbell)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 1999, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/escalator-etiquette/9242/21 "1999-12-13T23:17:00Z")
When I was in London, England last year, I was very impressed by the way people stood to one side and walked on the other. It was so civilized! Here in Montreal (land of the intrepid jaywalkers), there are no such signs. However, when a child lost some fingers because she poked them down the side of an escalator, they did put up signs about not doing **that**. I don’t know _why_ they don’t put up those signs. It makes so much sense. Still, since we _are_ Canadians, it’s usually enough to say, “Excuse me!” and gently nudge past. (That works very well in Canada because we’re basically polite … and nobody is armed.) * * * Are you educated, erudite and maybe a bit eccentric? Please help us test a [new web game](http://www.pyroto.com)! ---
**Author:** ![Kilgore\_Trout\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6de8d8/32.png) [@Kilgore\_Trout\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilgore_Trout_1)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 1999, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/escalator-etiquette/9242/22 "1999-12-15T04:23:00Z")
in toronto, we have walk left/stand right signs. they are not oberyed, however… even in the morning and evening rushes. i find that a friendly musical chant of ‘walk left, stand right, walk left, stand right’ does indeed work. and no-one gets mad, just confused. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 1999, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/escalator-etiquette/9242/23 "1999-12-16T01:29:00Z")
Second my colleague’s experiences on the Montreal metro. _Lors des heures achalandées_, one can clear a path with the magical incantation _'Scusez… 'Scusez…_ and the occasional \*Pousse-toi![/i} ---
**Author:** ![Sweet\_Basil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4bbf92/32.png) [@Sweet\_Basil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sweet_Basil)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 1999, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/escalator-etiquette/9242/24 "1999-12-16T19:41:00Z")
Don’t be so hard on us dolts who don’t know any better. I grew up in Nebraska, and was 22 before I was ever on a “big city” subway (London/Paris). I had been through airports. I was completely unaware that anyone would WANT to walk once on an escalator much less pass others. I found this out the hard way- by being shoved out of the way. I don’t remember ever seeing a sign, only hearing the ever-present “Mind the gap.” Sweet Basil ---
**Author:** ![Sweet\_Basil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4bbf92/32.png) [@Sweet\_Basil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sweet_Basil)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 1999, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/escalator-etiquette/9242/25 "1999-12-16T19:43:00Z")
Don’t be so hard on us dolts who don’t know any better. I grew up in Nebraska, and was 22 before I was ever on a “big city” subway (London/Paris). I had been through airports. I was completely unaware that anyone would WANT to walk once on an escalator much less pass others. I found this out the hard way- by being shoved out of the way. I don’t remember ever seeing a sign, only hearing the ever-present “Mind the gap.” Sweet Basil ---
**Author:** ![jdl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/4bbf92/32.png) [@jdl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jdl)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2000, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/escalator-etiquette/9242/26 "2000-03-24T03:39:00Z")
Does anyone have any advice on how to get the transit authority in Montreal to put up those signs? I wrote a letter several years ago and nothing was done. Does anyone know of any petitions that have worked? ---
**Author:** ![TomH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/90db22/32.png) [@TomH](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TomH)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2000, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/escalator-etiquette/9242/27 "2000-03-25T06:22:00Z")
Basil, Most escalators in London have signs at 2’ intervals all the way up and down saying “Please stand on the right”. ---
**Author:** ![Keeves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f05b48/32.png) [@Keeves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeves)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2000, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/escalator-etiquette/9242/28 "2000-03-25T06:58:00Z")
I am extremely surprised that anyone, anywhere, would put up a sign which suggests and advocates the idea that a person on an escalator should move at all. Of course people do it, but to actually _suggest_ such a thing would be to invite a lawsuit when someone trips and gets hurt, wouldn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2000, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/escalator-etiquette/9242/29 "2000-03-24T21:47:00Z")
**Keeves** , you sillyhead, nobody is _making_ anyone walk on the escalator. They’re just saying “If you want to walk on the escalator, do it on the left side. If you want to stand and enjoy the ride, do it on the right.” I know I’ve seen signs saying “Stand to Right” on the DC Metro but my experience backs up my fellow local Dopers - they’re not all that common. People don’t seem to be that pushy about it either - if some yokel tourist stands and gawks on the left side nobody gets in his face about it. Me? I walk on the left. 'S good exercise, especially around Dupont Circle 🙂 * * * All I wanna do is to thank you, even though I don’t know who you are… ---
**Author:** ![Andy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/aeb1de/32.png) [@Andy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2000, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/escalator-etiquette/9242/30 "2000-03-24T22:36:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by Lucky: > 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. ::heading for the blue line:: 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Stonecutter912](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5fc32e/32.png) [@Stonecutter912](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stonecutter912)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2000, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/escalator-etiquette/9242/31 "2000-03-25T06:56:00Z")
The worst morons are the ones who get to the top (or bottom) of the escalator then STAND there looking around like brain-dead cattle while the relentless action of the stairs pushes everyone else into a jumbled pack. The second worst: those who stand side-by-side and stop, rather than climb the escalator like any sensible person would do… ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2000, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/escalator-etiquette/9242/32 "2000-03-25T21:26:00Z")
IMHO the problem is not the signs but the people. Civic minded people will think of others and try to stay out of their way signs or no sings. Idiots who couldn’t care less will block your way signs or no signs. I have little patience for these and I just shove them out of my way and then say vary nicely “excuse me” Even worse are the people who climb the escalator at a department store and then freeze right there reading the directory and blocking the way to others who are trying to get off the escalator. Boy do I enjoy shoving these people out of the way! ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2000, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/escalator-etiquette/9242/33 "2000-03-26T05:46:00Z")
More from the Washington DC bureau… Many escalators have a “Please stand to right” decal stuck to the side of the rail, just about where the handrail makes its turn up or down from the horizontal. On the right hand side, of course. Haven’t seen 'em on every one, but they were everywhere at McPherson Square (my POD for work/home). Unfortunately, they seem to be easier to locate than the emergency stop buttons. We’ve had a couple deaths from entanglement that could have been prevented if those buttons were more prominently placed, jokers who like to hit it for fun notwithstanding. On that note, anyone ever been on an escalator that stopped moving when you were in the middle of it? Happened to me once in St. Petersburg… you never really realize how fast you’re actually moving until you’re not anymore. We looked like a row of dominoes. * * * All I wanna do is to thank you, even though I don’t know who you are… ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/escalator-etiquette/9242/34 "2000-03-27T13:22:00Z")
Didn’t we go through a similar thread lately? Anyway, Eastern Japan (including Tokyo) has “stand left/walk right” signs or announcements. Are they the only ones in the world to do that? Western Japan (including Osaka) mostly has “stand right/walk left” signs. ---
**Author:** ![Kansas\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kansas\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kansas_Man)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2004, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/escalator-etiquette/9242/35 "2004-02-06T04:41:18Z")
Montreal subways don’t have these signs. It’s endlessly frustrating. I wonder why they don’t just put up signs… ---
**Author:** ![Cillasi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@Cillasi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cillasi)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2004, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/escalator-etiquette/9242/36 "2004-02-06T04:59:35Z")
This started to be the norm in many NYC subways not too long ago. However, I can only approve of it in certain situations: 1. There are no stairs; or 2. The stairs are jammed with reverse traffic. Otherwise, if you want to walk, USE THE STAIRS. That’s what they are there for. Escalators are for those who choose to stand and wait. Many NYC subways have narrow escalators, making passing other people quite an intimate moment. It can also be dangerous as people pushing by tend to throw others off-balance. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2004, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/escalator-etiquette/9242/37 "2004-02-06T21:11:28Z")
It can be a lot more dangerous for you and your balance if you persist in standing on the left, though. ::scowls ominously in **Cillasi’s** direction:: ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2004, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/escalator-etiquette/9242/38 "2004-02-06T22:42:12Z")
Woo-hoo! Another Dawn of the Dead Thread! Anyhoo - in Calgary there are no signs, and nobody does the stand right, walk left thing, at all. ---
**Author:** ![robcaro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@robcaro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robcaro)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2004, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/escalator-etiquette/9242/39 "2004-02-06T23:43:28Z")
Here in Bogotá, Colombia, it is every man for himself. No signs anyplace. ---
**Author:** ![VogonPoet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/c77e96/32.png) [@VogonPoet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VogonPoet)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2004, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/escalator-etiquette/9242/40 "2004-02-07T00:33:05Z")
There are no signs in los angeles about the proper protocol, but I find that in subway system people tend to follow the rule of standing to the right and moving to the left. In shopping centers this is rarely followed. In the subway system, the division of go getters to one side and lazy slugs to the other is more likely to be followed at the train station than at other stops. Commuters tend to be more in a hurry and to take the same route more regularly, so they enforce the informal system more often. I’ve heard some very tersely barked orders to move over in the train station. Elsewhere there’s an occasional “excuse me.” I was surprised in London to find that they didn’t reverse the standing vs. walking lanes the way they do sides of the road that they drive on. I’m easily surprised. Then I decided that driving on the left and walking on the left seemed consistent in england. Just as for us americans passing on the left is natural. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/escalator-etiquette/9242.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/escalator-etiquette/9242.md?page=3)