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Americans haven’t figured out how to behave on an escalator. If you’re not in a hurry, stand on the right and enjoy the ride, allowing those of us with a fligh

Americans haven’t figured out how to behave on an escalator. If you’re not in a hurry, stand on the right and enjoy the ride, allowing those of us with a flight to catch to walk on the left. That's actually the first time I've heard that. I was always told to stand still and keep a hand on both rails for any escalator over one story for safety.

ghaff 5y ago
This is extremely common on just about any escalator in the US (and many other places).
- throwawayboise 5y ago
  Many escalators esp. older ones are not wide enough to allow two people to pass comfortably.
  - Macha 5y ago
    This is likely one of those cases where something became widespread in the US before other countries, so places had the benefit of looking at the US implementation (or just improvements of technology over time) before installing their own. I notice it with elevators in my own country - I rarely encounter an older, shaky, rattly elevator in my own country... because we took so long before they were as widespread.
    - Symbiote 5y ago
      The first escalators in widespread use were in Paris and London. But I think the real reason is cost: a metro system will pay for the extra capacity of a wide escalator. A shopping centre would prefer people not to hurry, can use the space for displaying goods, and thus chooses an escalator sized for one person.
johannes1234321 5y ago
Here in Munich in the underground for a long time they advertised "walk on the left, stand on the right" however as a notable number of people wants to stand there are large clusters of people when a tran arrives at big stations trying to get to the right side, sonthey fried advertising "stand left and right" which would in theory be best use of capacity (still considering notable amount of people standing) however people didn't accept it and there always were people asking people to give was yin an unfriendly manner ... This tabloid has a picture of the poster they used for that campaign: https://www.abendzeitung-muenchen.de/muenchen/links-und-rechts-stehen-nicht-gehen-neue-rolltreppen-regel-fuer-muenchen-art-408967 https://www.abendzeitung-muenchen.de/muenchen/links-und-rech...
erik_seaberg 5y ago
BART said escalators break down after prolonged uneven weight: https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/BART-escalators-walking-left-damaging-machine-10865791.php https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/BART-escalators-walki...
- applecrazy 5y ago
  What if the walk/stand zones are swapped every so often?
- Symbiote 5y ago
  Long ago, I read that London Underground has escalators designed with the imbalance in mind. I can't find a citation for this.
Taniwha 5y ago
While this may be true in the US it's not universal - some countries walk (and drive) on the left and escalator etiquette tends to follow

ghaff 5y ago

This is extremely common on just about any escalator in the US (and many other places).

throwawayboise 5y ago
Many escalators esp. older ones are not wide enough to allow two people to pass comfortably.
- Macha 5y ago
  This is likely one of those cases where something became widespread in the US before other countries, so places had the benefit of looking at the US implementation (or just improvements of technology over time) before installing their own. I notice it with elevators in my own country - I rarely encounter an older, shaky, rattly elevator in my own country... because we took so long before they were as widespread.
  - Symbiote 5y ago
    The first escalators in widespread use were in Paris and London. But I think the real reason is cost: a metro system will pay for the extra capacity of a wide escalator. A shopping centre would prefer people not to hurry, can use the space for displaying goods, and thus chooses an escalator sized for one person.

johannes1234321 5y ago

Here in Munich in the underground for a long time they advertised "walk on the left, stand on the right" however as a notable number of people wants to stand there are large clusters of people when a tran arrives at big stations trying to get to the right side, sonthey fried advertising "stand left and right" which would in theory be best use of capacity (still considering notable amount of people standing) however people didn't accept it and there always were people asking people to give was yin an unfriendly manner ... This tabloid has a picture of the poster they used for that campaign: https://www.abendzeitung-muenchen.de/muenchen/links-und-rechts-stehen-nicht-gehen-neue-rolltreppen-regel-fuer-muenchen-art-408967 https://www.abendzeitung-muenchen.de/muenchen/links-und-rech...

erik_seaberg 5y ago

BART said escalators break down after prolonged uneven weight: https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/BART-escalators-walking-left-damaging-machine-10865791.php https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/BART-escalators-walki...

applecrazy 5y ago
What if the walk/stand zones are swapped every so often?
Symbiote 5y ago
Long ago, I read that London Underground has escalators designed with the imbalance in mind. I can't find a citation for this.

Taniwha 5y ago

While this may be true in the US it's not universal - some countries walk (and drive) on the left and escalator etiquette tends to follow