I wish they weren't as dangerous. They really are a huge improvement on the conventional elevator in terms of efficiency. At Sheffield, many people are scared

I wish they weren't as dangerous. They really are a huge improvement on the conventional elevator in terms of efficiency. At Sheffield, many people are scared of the paternoster so choose the elevators opposite. I'd guess the paternoster riders still outnumber that crowd, by at least a factor of 5. Despite the pressure, there was rarely a queue for the paternoster at 0845, but there was for the two massive elevators opposite. The elevator congestion gets so bad the university employs an attendant, with one carriage assigned to the odd floors, and the other the evens. The paternoster is just so much easier. You don't have to press a button, wait ages, then have multiple slow stops en-route. You do occassionally have to wait for a carriage - Sheffield had max 2 per carriage, and it is generally considered rude to get in a carriage with a stranger outside of peak hours. There's also the risk of stoppages, which are particularly painful if your carriage is in the ~1.5m window between floors (+/- 1m based on your athleticism) where you can't find a way to get out. In that case, I hope you're not claustrophobic.