# Resolved: Everyone should be standing still on escalators **URL:** \ **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:** 2
**Author:** ![steepone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/977dab/32.png) [@steepone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steepone)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2020, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-everyone-should-be-standing-still-on-escalators/854872/21 "2020-06-02T03:07:41Z")
I’ve always seen this argument as complete nonsense, the escalators I use regularly take about 25 seconds standing and about half that walking, so someone blocking me from walking will cost me about 12 seconds, this is totally inconsequential ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2020, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-everyone-should-be-standing-still-on-escalators/854872/22 "2020-06-02T03:15:54Z")
> [@begbert2](#): > > ‘stationarys’. ::applause:: Exquisitely clever. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2020, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-everyone-should-be-standing-still-on-escalators/854872/23 "2020-06-02T06:47:40Z")
> [@begbert2](#): > > Escalators are frikking meat grinders. Walking on them demonstrates a cavalier disregard for basic safety… _Running_, certainly: but walking, even quite briskly, and sometimes without using the handrail, has been managed successfully by millions over a century or more. The London Underground gave up its standing-only experiment: people were just too used to the “stand on the right, pass on the left” practice, as it’s an effective compromise. It works. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2020, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-everyone-should-be-standing-still-on-escalators/854872/24 "2020-06-02T11:26:16Z")
> [@steepone](#): > > I’ve always seen this argument as complete nonsense, the escalators I use regularly take about 25 seconds standing and about half that walking, so someone blocking me from walking will cost me about 12 seconds, this is totally inconsequential After having the PATH\* train door close with me seconds away, causing me to miss my commuter train, with another one not for 40 minutes or more, I can’t just stand on the escalator anymore. “Just leave earlier!” Well, I try that, but things come up at the last minute and I find myself literally running to the PATH. Twelve seconds turns into a 40 minute delay in getting home. Like I said, people in no particular rush are welcome to stand to one side, and wait in line for the privilege. Just get the heck out of the way of those of us with a connection to make, or a class to attend, or whatever. As I say above, the average time in the system is unimportant – people who want to get somewhere quicker can do so and people who don’t care how long it takes can wait. \*The PATH train is a small subway system between NYC and NJ. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2020, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-everyone-should-be-standing-still-on-escalators/854872/25 "2020-06-02T11:39:57Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > As I say above, the average time in the system is unimportant – people who want to get somewhere quicker can do so and people who don’t care how long it takes can wait. This. I don’t know why the whole system should change so that people who don’t care how long it takes them to ride an escalator can do so faster. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2020, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-everyone-should-be-standing-still-on-escalators/854872/26 "2020-06-02T14:30:31Z")
It’s a little-known fact that 78% of serious escalator injuries happen when cops chase bad guys hurtling down the center divider. Walk (or stand) on the right, pass on the left is the general pedestrian rule that keeps modern society from descending into crazed anarchy. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2020, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-everyone-should-be-standing-still-on-escalators/854872/27 "2020-06-02T14:41:04Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > This. I don’t know why the whole system should change so that people who don’t care how long it takes them to ride an escalator can do so faster. Yeah this. To go back to the London Underground as a case in point, half the riders are commuters with somewhere to get to fast, and half are tourists who haven’t a clue where they’re going and don’t care how long it takes to get there. Having two speeds is precisely for this reason. There’s no reason to hinder the commuters so the tourists can go faster. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2020, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-everyone-should-be-standing-still-on-escalators/854872/28 "2020-06-02T14:44:10Z")
Escalators are trash anyway. I propose we eliminate them entirely. Stairs for those of us who can use them and elevators for the rest. Every multi-story building in the world except airports and malls gets along just fine without expensive, complicated, high-maintenance, injury-causing escalators. Malls and airports should get with the program. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2020, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-everyone-should-be-standing-still-on-escalators/854872/29 "2020-06-02T14:49:16Z")
You have to factor in space and numbers, especially when retrofitting a pre-existing underground railway. ---
**Author:** ![PoppaSan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/poppasan/32/189_2.png) [@PoppaSan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoppaSan)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2020, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-everyone-should-be-standing-still-on-escalators/854872/30 "2020-06-02T15:38:00Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Your individual speed is increase by decreasing everyone else’s speed. That’s not a reasonable tradeoff. Can we somehow use this slingshot effect to launch things into orbit? Kind of how spacecraft get a gravity assist from a planetary type body? ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2020, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-everyone-should-be-standing-still-on-escalators/854872/31 "2020-06-02T16:05:26Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > Escalators are trash anyway. I propose we eliminate them entirely. Stairs for those of us who can use them and elevators for the rest. Every multi-story building in the world except airports and malls gets along just fine without expensive, complicated, high-maintenance, injury-causing escalators. Malls and airports should get with the program. I disagree about the injury causing escalators. From my cite earlier 90% of escalator/elevator deaths are caused by elevators and 60% of the injuries are caused by elevators. Escalators are relatively safe compared to elevators. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2020, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-everyone-should-be-standing-still-on-escalators/854872/32 "2020-06-02T16:09:14Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > Escalators are trash anyway. I propose we eliminate them entirely. Stairs for those of us who can use them and elevators for the rest. Every multi-story building in the world except airports and malls gets along just fine without expensive, complicated, high-maintenance, injury-causing escalators. Malls and airports should get with the program. No one is talking about walking on mall or airport escalators – you never can do that anyway – people don’t stand right on those escalators. We’re talking about subways and train stations, where you have experienced commuters who have someplace to be and tourists lollygagging about. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2020, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-everyone-should-be-standing-still-on-escalators/854872/33 "2020-06-02T16:40:30Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > 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. No, everyone walking would slow things down. If everyone stands you can put a person on every step. You can’t pack walkers that densely even if you train them like a team of synchronized swimmers. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2020, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-everyone-should-be-standing-still-on-escalators/854872/34 "2020-06-02T17:39:25Z")
> [@Oredigger77](#): > > I disagree about the injury causing escalators. From my cite earlier 90% of escalator/elevator deaths are caused by elevators and 60% of the injuries are caused by elevators. Escalators are relatively safe compared to elevators. That or elevators are more common than escalators. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2020, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-everyone-should-be-standing-still-on-escalators/854872/35 "2020-06-02T17:43:32Z")
> [@Bill\_Door](#): > > No, everyone walking would slow things down. If everyone stands you can put a person on every step. You can’t pack walkers that densely even if you train them like a team of synchronized swimmers. Per the study, density decreases 30% but on-escalator velocity increases by over 50%, so everyone walking would indeed move more people per minute. My arithmetic is often wrong though, so I recommend someone check that. ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2020, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-everyone-should-be-standing-still-on-escalators/854872/36 "2020-06-02T18:51:04Z")
> [@begbert2](#): > > That or elevators are more common than escalators. Good point. According to [this PDF](http://www.neii.org/presskit/printmaster.cfm?plink=NEII%20Elevator%20and%20Escalator%20Fun%20Facts.cfm) there are 900,000 elevators in the US and 35,000 escalators. So there are about 2x more deaths per escalator and 10x as many injuries. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2020, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-everyone-should-be-standing-still-on-escalators/854872/37 "2020-06-02T19:42:46Z")
> [@Oredigger77](#): > > Good point. According to [this PDF](http://www.neii.org/presskit/printmaster.cfm?plink=NEII%20Elevator%20and%20Escalator%20Fun%20Facts.cfm) there are 900,000 elevators in the US and 35,000 escalators. So there are about 2x more deaths per escalator and 10x as many injuries. Like I said, meat grinders. (Quite literally, if you get the wrong part of yourself caught in the wrong place.) Seriously, people should treat those things with more respect than they do - you’re basically standing (or walking) on top of a moving tank tread. (Which is not to say that people respect other dangerous equipment either, but still.) ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2020, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-everyone-should-be-standing-still-on-escalators/854872/38 "2020-06-02T20:20:58Z")
We’d want to normalize by passengers, although I don’t see good data. My building has 2x the elevators as it has escalators, but they transport roughly the same number of people (for whatever reason you have to escalate to or from the elevator lobby unless you want to take a very out-of-the-way accessibility ramp). ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2020, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-everyone-should-be-standing-still-on-escalators/854872/39 "2020-06-02T20:48:20Z")
Even if escalators are two to ten times more dangerous than elevators, that doesn’t necessarily mean that either is dangerous enough to worry about. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2020, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-everyone-should-be-standing-still-on-escalators/854872/40 "2020-06-02T20:59:13Z")
I wonder if the extra exercise is worth the danger, (if it is indeed increased.) Assuming the walkers wouldn’t make up the exercise elsewhere. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-everyone-should-be-standing-still-on-escalators/854872.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-everyone-should-be-standing-still-on-escalators/854872.md?page=3)