# Resolved: Everyone should be standing still on escalators
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-everyone-should-be-standing-still-on-escalators/854872
**Category:** Great Debates
**Created:** [June 1, 2020, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-everyone-should-be-standing-still-on-escalators/854872 "2020-06-01T20:33:09Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)
#### Post date: [June 1, 2020, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-everyone-should-be-standing-still-on-escalators/854872/1 "2020-06-01T20:33:09Z")
Supporting material.
Video: “The Unseen Inefficiency of Escalator Etiquette”
1. Half of all escalator injuries of people under the age of 65 are caused by walking on escalators
1. The uneven weight distribution cause by people standing to one side causes more frequent breakdowns
2. In high-traffic times, reserving half the escalator for walkers _decreases_ the average speed of users
Resolved: Everyone should be standing still on escalators. It is a technology more suitable for riders, not walkers
---
### Author:  [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)
#### Post date: [June 1, 2020, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-everyone-should-be-standing-still-on-escalators/854872/2 "2020-06-01T20:54:03Z")
> [@Acsenray](#):
>
> Supporting material.
>
> Video: “The Unseen Inefficiency of Escalator Etiquette”
>
> 1. Half of all escalator injuries of people under the age of 65 are caused by walking on escalators
> 1. The uneven weight distribution cause by people standing to one side causes more frequent breakdowns
>
> 2. In high-traffic times, reserving half the escalator for walkers _decreases_ the average speed of users
>
> Resolved: Everyone should be standing still on escalators. It is a technology more suitable for riders, not walkers
1. Is that a large number of injuries? I mean, is it a problem? If it’s only like 50 minor injuries per year, so what?
2. How many more frequent breakdowns? If it’s an extra breakdown per year, I’d rather walk.
3. The average speed doesn’t matter. The people standing obviously have no place to be or would rather be delayed than get some exercise. The people who are rushing to catch a train or get to a meeting, or would rather just get a little exercise, are certainly increasing \*their \*average speed and getting to their destination quicker.
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### Author:  [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)
#### Post date: [June 1, 2020, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-everyone-should-be-standing-still-on-escalators/854872/3 "2020-06-01T21:04:42Z")
> [@Acsenray](#):
>
> Everyone should be standing still on escalators.
Except when they get off. Then, NOBODY should be standing still (one of my pet peeves).
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### Author:  [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)
#### Post date: [June 1, 2020, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-everyone-should-be-standing-still-on-escalators/854872/4 "2020-06-01T21:10:27Z")
> [@Acsenray](#):
>
> Supporting material.
>
> Video: “The Unseen Inefficiency of Escalator Etiquette”
>
> 1. Half of all escalator injuries of people under the age of 65 are caused by walking on escalators
> 1. The uneven weight distribution cause by people standing to one side causes more frequent breakdowns
>
> 2. In high-traffic times, reserving half the escalator for walkers _decreases_ the average speed of users
>
> Resolved: Everyone should be standing still on escalators. It is a technology more suitable for riders, not walkers
During normal working times, I ride escalators many times a day. And every time, I think about your #3 there, because I have heard it before.
Because in high-traffic times, my speed is increased if one side is reserved for walkers and I can get to the turnstiles faster than a slow group of people and get out of the parking lot faster.
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### Author:  [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)
#### Post date: [June 1, 2020, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-everyone-should-be-standing-still-on-escalators/854872/5 "2020-06-01T21:12:07Z")
A standing-only policy increased hourly escalator capacity in London by 27 percent. That’s not insignificant.
It makes sense to increase the average speed and capacity rather than slow down the 75 percent of people who stand in order to allow 25 percent of the people who walk to move faster than everyone else.
> **[Why everyone should stand still on an escalator](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/why-everyone-should-stand-still-on-an-escalator)**
>
> The best way to ride an escalator isn't what you'd expect, but it's 27 percent more efficient.
> [@](#):
>
> The people standing obviously have no place to be
This is not a serious statement. Everyone using an escalator has somewhere to be. The time saved from walking as opposed to standing is not significant.
> [@](#):
>
> or would rather just get a little exercise
Escalators aren’t designed to give people exercise. It makes no sense to allow 25 percent of users to get more exercise on a device not designed for it, balanced against the negatives.
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### Author:  [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)
#### Post date: [June 1, 2020, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-everyone-should-be-standing-still-on-escalators/854872/6 "2020-06-01T21:13:18Z")
> [@Slash1972](#):
>
> Because in high-traffic times, my speed is increased if one side is reserved for walkers and I can get to the turnstiles faster than a slow group of people and get out of the parking lot faster.
Your individual speed is increase by decreasing everyone else’s speed. That’s not a reasonable tradeoff.
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### Author:  [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)
#### Post date: [June 1, 2020, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-everyone-should-be-standing-still-on-escalators/854872/7 "2020-06-01T21:19:18Z")
The many benefit far more from an all-standing policy than the few do from being allowed to walk:
> **[Why You Shouldn’t Walk on Escalators (Published 2017)](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/04/us/escalators-standing-or-walking.html)**
>
> If everyone stood two abreast, experts say, escalators would move more people more quickly. Good luck persuading anyone to do this.
> [@](#):
>
> They found that walking up the escalator took 26 seconds compared with standing, which took 40 seconds. However, the “time in system” — or how long it took to stand in line to reach an escalator then ride it — dropped sharply when everyone stood, according to a blog post by the researchers.
>
> When 40 percent of the people walked, the average time for standers was 138 seconds and 46 seconds for walkers, according to their calculations. When everyone stood, the average time fell to 59 seconds. For walkers, that meant losing 13 seconds but for standers, it was a 79-second improvement.
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### Author:  [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)
#### Post date: [June 1, 2020, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-everyone-should-be-standing-still-on-escalators/854872/8 "2020-06-01T21:23:39Z")
That seems true. My stop has a long line of people waiting for the “standing” side of the escalators while nobody is waiting for the “walking” side. I’d rather just stand myself, but I’m not waiting an extra minute to do it.
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### Author:  [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)
#### Post date: [June 1, 2020, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-everyone-should-be-standing-still-on-escalators/854872/9 "2020-06-01T21:32:04Z")
Right, but if more people walked, there would be an overall improvement in time in the system, since there would be fewer or no people waiting for the non-walking line, right?
So, it seem like it’s the lazy people slowing everything down (leaving aside the small percentage of people who cannot walk due to some physical disability). If more people walked, leaving no line for the lazy side, average time in the system should go down.
This seems like a London problem to me, because, at least in NY, you’ll never have people waiting for a standing side – they would just go to the the other side and stand and you’ll get your desired end-point of me missing my connection.
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### Author:  [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)
#### Post date: [June 1, 2020, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-everyone-should-be-standing-still-on-escalators/854872/10 "2020-06-01T21:32:18Z")
1. Half of all escalator injuries of people under the age of 65 are caused by walking on escalators
There are about [3 deaths and 6,800 serious injuries](https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/nioshtic-2/20039852.html#:~:text=Deaths%20and%20injuries%20involving%20elevators%20or%20escalators%20(revised).,-Authors&text=Incidents%20involving%20elevators%20and%20escalators,the%20Consumer%20Product%20Safety%20Commission.) due to escelators per year in the US. I couldn’t find a breakdown due to age. Half of a limited age group seems like we’re talking about 3,000 total injuries per year.
1. The uneven weight distribution cause by people standing to one side causes more frequent breakdowns
Seems like the solution to this would be to ban standing and allow people to walk on both sides.
1. In high-traffic times, reserving half the escalator for walkers _decreases_ the average speed of user.
My understanding is that by packing the escalator with people standing it is able to more more people faster. I haven’t seen a study where everyone walks. It seems if you crammed twice as many people on there and they all walked up then the average speed would be even faster.
So the solution should be standers are banned and everyone moves on both sides.
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### Author:  [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)
#### Post date: [June 1, 2020, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-everyone-should-be-standing-still-on-escalators/854872/11 "2020-06-01T21:36:54Z")
Banning standing on escalators is clearly a satirical position to take. Banning walking isn’t comparable.
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### Author:  [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)
#### Post date: [June 1, 2020, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-everyone-should-be-standing-still-on-escalators/854872/12 "2020-06-01T21:44:37Z")
Meh, if I was god-king I would ban standing and make the people who couldn’t or didn’t want to walk ride the elevator.
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### Author:  [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)
#### Post date: [June 1, 2020, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-everyone-should-be-standing-still-on-escalators/854872/13 "2020-06-01T21:52:57Z")
> [@Acsenray](#):
>
> Banning standing on escalators is clearly a satirical position to take. Banning walking isn’t comparable.
All the new escalators they put up in NY have a voice saying over and over to stand, do not run or walk, on the escalator. Seems to do no good.
How would you ban it?
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### Author:  [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)
#### Post date: [June 1, 2020, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-everyone-should-be-standing-still-on-escalators/854872/14 "2020-06-01T21:55:26Z")
> [@RitterSport](#):
>
> All the new escalators they put up in NY have a voice saying over and over to stand, do not run or walk, on the escalator. Seems to do no good.
>
> How would you ban it?
One way is to do what you do for jaywalking. Start issuing citations.
Also, for some period of time, send employees in pairs to stand abreast, to make people get used to standing.
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### Author:  [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)
#### Post date: [June 1, 2020, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-everyone-should-be-standing-still-on-escalators/854872/15 "2020-06-01T22:20:29Z")
Escalators are frikking meat grinders. Walking on them demonstrates a cavalier disregard for basic safety.
They should invent a special kind of ‘safety escalator’, with fewer moving parts, possibly with stationary steps. They could call them ‘stationarys’. They would be reserved exclusively for people who wish to walk up and down them; standers would be required to use the escalators only in order to give the walkers exclusive right-of-way.
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### Author:  [@El\_Famous\_Burrito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Famous_Burrito)
#### Post date: [June 1, 2020, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-everyone-should-be-standing-still-on-escalators/854872/16 "2020-06-01T23:20:02Z")
I’m a “walks on the escalator” guy, so you’re going to have a tough time getting me to vote for your resolution regardless, **Acsenray**. But I’m willing to listen. Critical for my support will be an exemption for lower-traffic times.
We’re only applying the rules to crowded escalators – like when your subway dumps out scores of people during morning rush hour – yeah? The throughput argument doesn’t apply unless there are enough people to cause a queue at the entrance, so I should be cool to walk in other circumstances.
> [@Oredigger77](#):
>
> Meh, if I was god-king I would ban standing and make the people who couldn’t or didn’t want to walk ride the elevator.
**Oredigger77** is right: the social default should be for _all users_ to walk, with those unable taking the elevator. Corollary: if you can walk, then don’t use elevator, which is reserved for those unable to walk. (Alternative rules would be in effect when no elevator is nearby.)
> [@begbert2](#):
>
> They should invent a special kind of ‘safety escalator’, with fewer moving parts, possibly with stationary steps. They could call them ‘stationarys’.
Now we’re talking. My strong preference is to take the stairs, even when an empty escalator is nearby. If I was god-king, all escalators would have accompanying stairs. But architects have really screwed this up; a frustratingly high percentage of escalators lack a parallel staircase. This sin seems to be committed more often in buildings from the 50s, 60s, and 70s. I dunno if architects of that era deemed stairs too old fashioned or what.
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [June 1, 2020, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-everyone-should-be-standing-still-on-escalators/854872/17 "2020-06-01T23:29:21Z")
If you’ve got so many people moving through that there’s literally a line to wait to get on the escalator, then the problem isn’t people standing or people walking. It’s that you don’t have enough escalators.
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### Author:  [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)
#### Post date: [June 1, 2020, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-everyone-should-be-standing-still-on-escalators/854872/18 "2020-06-01T23:52:37Z")
It’s not a ride at Disneyland, move your ass if you can.
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### Author:  [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2020, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-everyone-should-be-standing-still-on-escalators/854872/19 "2020-06-02T02:44:41Z")
> [@Slash1972](#):
>
> That seems true. My stop has a long line of people waiting for the “standing” side of the escalators while nobody is waiting for the “walking” side. I’d rather just stand myself, but I’m not waiting an extra minute to do it.
This and the 75/25 example are comical for anyone who has made a transfer at Pentagon. Standers are the rare, hated exception.
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### Author:  [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2020, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-everyone-should-be-standing-still-on-escalators/854872/20 "2020-06-02T03:01:08Z")
> [@begbert2](#):
>
> They should invent a special kind of ‘safety escalator’, with fewer moving parts, possibly with stationary steps. They could call them ‘stationarys’. They would be reserved exclusively for people who wish to walk up and down them; standers would be required to use the escalators only in order to give the walkers exclusive right-of-way.
Funny coincidence. Sometimes the escalators break down, and then they resemble exactly what you are describing here. Maybe engineers could use broken escalators as a a draft concept of your “stationarys” idea.
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