Do you have
strong opinions
about people on
transit area escalators?
Because I do.
You can often tell a person who doesn’t usually take the train. You know it right away because they’re standing beside their friend on the escalator, which—in case you too are fully aware of the etiquette—is a wholly assholeish thing to do.
Why?
Because trains and buses run on schedules and very often the ability to run up or down the escalator unimpeded can mean the difference between catching the one just coming in or having to wait for the next one to arrive. Not so bad during peak service and that wait is only a couple of minutes, but a real suckfest when it can mean 15 minutes or more.
Few things are frustrating than having the train roll out away from you just as your finger hits the button to open the door, especially knowing that you would have been on that train were it not for the jerk on the escalator. It’s one of life’s more annoyingly trivial irritants.
Note that the issue isn’t that the person chose to stand. That’s their right. The issue is that they—usually obliviously—chose to ignore the fact that other people might not be so laissez-faire about getting to were they are going. Some might already be late, others might have had a long day and don’t want to add another 15-20 minutes to their commute. A few might even be secret agents trying to elude deadly assassins hot on their trail.
How many people have died because a person blocked the left hand side of the escalator? I would argue that even one is too many.
Of course, this is a stupid issue and not the sort of thing people should get angry about, but I would argue that not showing any courtesy for others is equally as stupid when what you are being asked to do is sooooooo fricking easy.
Photo courtesy of Alex Barth
Escalators are ;not made to walk on. They are not moving stairs. They are made to move large numbers of standing people smoothly from one level to another. Check out Escalator manufactor web sites. They tell you not to walk on them.
I get vertigo from the really long escalators, like the ones in the Washington, DC subway system. The long vanishing point sightlines do something wonky to my brain. I have to stand still on the step to keep myself upright, conscious, and vomit-free. But, I always stay on the right-hand side of the step so that others can pass me. In case of assassins.