Apparently boarding escalators two by two and standing is more efficient than the popular system of standing on one side, walking up on the other.
The article mentions that this will not work in the US – people’s self-interest dominates behavior:
Yeah, good luck making that happen, at least in America, experts said… “In the U.S., self-interest dominates our behavior on the road, on escalators and anywhere there is a capacity problem,” he wrote in an email. “I don’t believe Americans, any longer (if they ever did), have a rational button.”
it could work because the personal space thing isn’t an issue. i think its a good idea. if someone wants to rush they should use the stairs. i think i might start implementing this rule by myself and see what happens.
Cheap science. There’s no proper control group, you get different numbers of voluntary walkers with shorter/longer escalators, not all station platforms are created equal, and so on. (Who would accept these low standards in drug trials?)
It reminds me of a book from a few years ago, something like More Sex Is Safer Sex. The author put forth a logical explanation, but it was still a reductionism that wouldn’t necessarily work in real life. Think of a bed of nails. Yes, you can lie down on it without being pierced, but it doesn’t necessarily translate to “more nails are safer nails”.
Also, “walk less” isn’t really the best advice for a sedentary society.
Many key elevators/transfer points do not have stairs (example: Zhongxiao Fuxing). So in this case, alas BHL4life’s suggestion won’t work.
Everybody walk on escalators? Unfortunately that won’t work either as some passengers are encumbered (suitcases, etc).
I agree as well about the slow speed of the escalators here. I believe there’s a history to this: some forumosans may remember mass injuries back in the day when someone’s clothes (or crocs? god I can’t believe I just typed that word) got caught in the escalator, leading to a terrible mass pile up.
Given the above conditions, and the fact that people who use the MRT are more or less trained to follow the current system, I don’t think messing around with the current system is a good plan.
How about both sides walk? People here are lazy as fuck. Only about one in 15 actually walk up escalators [editor’s note: not actually empirically tested data].
I don’t disagree with the second part of your observation. But as I noted above, I don’t think it will be practical to ask both sides to walk as a significant number of people are and will be encumbered in some way (suitcases, etc).
I remember somebody’s scalp got ripped off after her long hair got caught.
There have been many accidents involving children. Fingers, feet, all caught in the mechanism. Luckily, we haven’t had such horrible fatalities as in China, where escalators have collapsed and people fell to their deaths -except for that one employee but it was more a case of a work related accident- but there have been pile ups with corresponding injuries.
A Hong Kong artist has a series of drawing comparing the fast paced life there with Taiwan. The escalators and the slow leisure walking are prominent.
I would rather not pile up too many people on the escalators. Nor I want them to speed up. It gets quite hectic sometimes, and I really do not trust crowds.
Personal space is definitely an issue. Most people wouldn’t stand in pairs if they don’t know the person next to them. Studies have also shown that people standing on one side doesn’t really mess with the chains driving the escalators. I’d say keep to the right is a good tradition and there’s really no good reason to change it except if someone can prove that people walking down escalators are more likely to injure themselves, and have the frequency and degree of injury compared with injuries caused by walking down the stairs.
Hasn’t Taipei’s MRT already removed the stand right, walk left “rule”? Been a while since I was on the MRT but I remember last time noticing that the guidance stickers had been removed from the escalators.
They removed it because people started saying the rule actually damages the escalators, which isn’t true. They also say the rule is likely to cause more injuries, which is likely but how is that different than walking down regular stairs?
Oh OK, wasn’t just my imagination so. Appears that people are still following the rule which is no longer a rule though.
Principally because they’re moving I guess! There are a lot more trap hazards on an escalator, they’re steel with nasty serrated edges to the steps, typically much narrower than a stairway so much more likely to hit the sides and other people in the event of a fall. I guess mainly they were not designed to be walked up or down and the manufacturers also discourage it even if it does not damage the mechanism.
It may actually be comparing US style escalator use, where one person at a time gets on and usually stands there. During high traffic in Taipei it’s usually right side standing and left side walking. Seems fairly efficient already…
It’s efficient except for when a large volume of people are discharged at once and rush for the only escalator to change lines or exit, then it’s inefficient I think.
Indeed. Please notice for instance the instructions written at the Zhongshiao Xinsheng station. It has pretty wide starcases… and still can’t handle the flow.
