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Tokyo Wants People To Stand on Both Sides of the Escalator (citylab.com)
When one side isn't reserved for walkers, it saves time for everyone. But transit users around the world just can't be convinced. Linda Poon, writing for CityLab: I'm one of those people who speed past everyone on the escalator. As long as the left side isn't blocked, no amount of judgement from fellow riders to the right, or safety warnings, or even falls (two and counting) will stop me -- not yet anyway. I'm certainly not alone; it's a common enough habit that some cities occasionally try to change such behavior for safety's sake. London's tried, so has Hong Kong and Washington, D.C. Now it's Tokyo's turn. East Japan Railway Company (JR East) launched a campaign this month calling on riders to stand on both sides of the escalators inside some of the city's busiest transit hubs.
Signs are posted on walls and above escalators, reading, in both Japanese and English, "Walking on escalators may lead to accidents caused by collisions or luggage." Bright pink handrails carry similar messages. And in some stations, security staff with neon-colored vests stand watch and guide people. If people are really in a hurry, JR East suggests, they should take the stairs. So far, the effort has had mixed results: According to the Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK), railway officials say that some people did stop but many commuters were still hustling up and down the escalator on Monday. The campaign is set to run until February 1.
Signs are posted on walls and above escalators, reading, in both Japanese and English, "Walking on escalators may lead to accidents caused by collisions or luggage." Bright pink handrails carry similar messages. And in some stations, security staff with neon-colored vests stand watch and guide people. If people are really in a hurry, JR East suggests, they should take the stairs. So far, the effort has had mixed results: According to the Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK), railway officials say that some people did stop but many commuters were still hustling up and down the escalator on Monday. The campaign is set to run until February 1.
I think I saw some research that actually when using both sides of escalator it actually increases the amount of people goes though. But the argument leaving other side free is to let those who are in the hurry walk and rest who are not that in a hurry just stand.
Reducing speed limits to 5 mph everywhere would also reduce accidents, yet we don't do it. Maximizing safety is not always the right thing to do.
I guess you've never been the Japan. It's not universal but it is a very frequent habit for standers to stay to one side and walkers to freely use the other. They're not particularly wide and I'm an Amerifat but still manage not to clog up the escalator like a double-handrail-holding can't-fucking-balance jackass.
What are you doing touching the rails anyway--you want to pick up the latest cold or flu going around?
These are probably up/down escalator sets both going the same direction. One side is just standing and the other is used by walkers. I think they could just make it so that walking is only permitted when there's no congestion and everyone is happy.
I am not really sure what that means but our town has a very small airport and no escalators. I have seen people walking up escalators but that is usually because they are in a hurry and they walk up either side without anybody getting their panties in a wad. I am also not sure what BSD has to do with anything.
Oh, So that's why folks in US always make sure to take up all lanes on the escalators ... it's for my safety!
Sorry, my fat ass physically isn't compatible with that requirement. Two of me do not fit on a normal escalator stair at the same time
Maybe this is a stupid question, but why not just take the stairs if you're in a hurry? Maybe it's different in Japan or there are a few locations where this doesn't hold true, but I'm assuming that there's a perfectly good set of stairs that can be used instead of escalators. If I'm in a hurry in an airport, I'll almost always take the stairs because they get a lot less traffic and they're often more than wide enough to allow plenty of space to go around people.
I find it surprising that people can operate their legs on normal stairways, yet their legs stop operation when on stairs that move.
Same goes with moving pathways at airports.
How lazy.
"When one side isn't reserved for walkers, it saves time for everyone."
This is an absurd claim that doesn't pass the most basic smell test.
If everyone is a stander, then the latency for everyone is fixed once they are on the device. Therefore, the only way to "save time for everyone" is for everyone to literally have to wait extra time to get on otherwise. That is clearly NEVER the case for everyone and is, in most instances, never the case for ANYONE.
If the most important thing is absolute throughput, then you need to pack like sardines to minimize wait on entry. This is likely never true except in an exceptional place during exceptional demand. Otherwise, it will always be best to yield space to those who need to minimize transit time since your latency will be unaffected. This is so trivially easy to understand it's a joke.
It's not wonder "transit users around the world just can't be convinced", it's because it's wrong. Laughably wrong.
On Miami vice the cops used to run up the escalators jumping over people
Where do you have to be that an extra ten seconds is going to make or break you? The lack of consideration for other people justifying this is appalling, and that's aimed at the author, not Japan.
Where is the little man with flags for my house to warn me of the many dangers?
You're an idiot. I've been to countless places with escalators and very rarely is it too small to have left/right lane of traffic. You stand right, walk left. Dont like it then take the elevator or stairs.
I don't knoe why, but my body just sucks at balancing, and I tried everything.
Also, I'm usually walking a *lot* (Germany here, most people my age in my city have no car.), even though I'm an "Eurofat", so the escalator always is a nice little pause to rest my legs.
So I simply grab the rails to make both of the above easier. And I also fill out 2/3 of the space.
I don't see why I can't just make some space, if somebody wants to pass me anyway. Because it's not *that* hard, and unlike OP, I'm not an asshole.
There are escalators of different widths, by the way. They are deliberately installed for different usage scenarios.
When in a hurry, I often find the stairs are faster than the crowded escalator.
Linda Poon is an obvious porn name. Was that article co-written by Buck Naked?
Watch! Vanquish! Surrender! It all makes sense in the Trump world, as Karla 'Danny' Devito likes to say. Oh, and by the way, YOU'RE FIRED!
That man with flags is here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
And "little" is racist.
I follow the posted signage. Some places specifically say walk on left, stand on right. Some say not to walk.
If the most important thing is absolute throughput, then you need to pack like sardines to minimize wait on entry. This is likely never true except in an exceptional place during exceptional demand.
What the featured article refers to as "the city’s busiest transit hubs" you might indeed call "an exceptional place". Besides, the article appears to imply that in JR East's opinion, the most important thing might be neither throughput nor latency but collision safety, particularly for people carrying bulky and/or heavy luggage.
When in a hurry, I often find the stairs are faster than the crowded escalator.
This is frequently the case even when only a small number of people are using an escalator. If you're in a hurry and physically capable, the stairs are almost always a better option.
"That's the way to do it" - Punch
There are studies that show one of the reasons for frequent elevator failure is the imbalance caused by people standing to one side and a few walking on the other.
These are probably up/down escalator sets both going the same direction. One side is just standing and the other is used by walkers. I think they could just make it so that walking is only permitted when there's no congestion and everyone is happy.
And that would be a "social contract" kind of thing, where society's social norms would need to be adjusted. That's hard to do.
"File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
People who stand on escalators are slovenly vermin who must be destroyed.
I'm glad Slashdot has the guts to print this kind of stuff. Nowhere else have I seen such important articles on such important topics.
I look forward to other articles like this. Like which side of the hard boiled egg should you crack first? The big end of the little end? Or should you hang the toilet paper facing front, or facing back?
Two at a time standing maybe makes sense if there are enough people at the bottom of the escalator to saturate it - i.e. a big enough crowd at the bottom that there are always two more people to step on each step as it appears.That is logically the maximum throughput, if you assume that people walking up leave spaces between them. If you had a pool of fit people who all wanted to get up the escalator as fast as possible, then they could all walk, or, god forbid, run up the escalator and the increased velocity would likely offset the effect of the spaces and you would achieve even greater throughput.
Around here the transit stations are busy, but seldom at saturation levels. People stand on the right and walk on the left. Seems to work well enough. Most people walk up, the ones who stand are usually pulling a suitcase, or elderly, or obese, or heads down reading a book or a screen.
None of them can see the clouds; The polished wings don't care.
Which is why the stairs are always hidden from public view
WHY DID BSD DIE?
Sure, we all know that *BSD is a failure, but why? Why did *BSD die? Once you get past the fact that *BSD is fragmented between a myriad of incompatible kernels, there is the historical record of failure and of failed operating systems. *BSD experienced moderate success about 20 years ago in academic circles. Since then it has been in steady decline. We all know *BSD effectively lost all of its market share but why? Is it the problematic personalities of many of the key players? Or is it larger than their troubled personas? The record is clear on one thing: no operating system has ever come back from the grave. Efforts to resuscitate *BSD are one step away from spiritualists wishing to communicate with the dead. As the situation grows more desperate for the adherents of this doomed OS, the sorrow takes hold. An unremitting gloom has settled in. Now is the end time for *BSD.
Trains come and go in every 5 minutes, how does shaving off maybe 30 seconds can increase the chance of getting on an earlier train? 1 out of 10?
If you do not want people to go down them like stair, stop making them stairs. Make them metal platforms that hold 4-6 people; instead of having them return underneath each other, have the platforms go in a oval motion where they are going clockwise and down (or up) at the same time - kinda like a merry-go-round. The platforms should be big enough for a stroller to get on and off easily too. For a building with more than two floors, another idea is to make the platforms rotate around a pole, like a spiral stairs, but you have one set going up constantly and one set going down constantly with a platform transition at the top and bottom. These platforms would have a circular like shape to them to maximize loading and unloading times.
Bottom line is if you don't want people walking down them like stairs, don't make them stairs.
-Adam S.
You're misunderstanding "it saves time for everyone". I think what is meant that the average or typical latency is reduced (under high load).
It's pretty easy to see that this is true. If both sides are fully utilized, two people will exit at a regular clip. If only one side is fully utilized, and the other reserved for those who walk, the rate or people exiting will be slower. The only exception would be if the walking side were fully utilized by walkers. I've spent a lot of time in tube stations, and have virtually never seen this.
I'm 6'4", 360 lbs, former defensive lineman...you want to try to sprint past me on some 24" wide escalator, you go right ahead and try...but if you try to shove me, slam me, or crank your bag into my leg to get past because you can't wait the 4 minutes to get to the top, that may not work out well for you.
-Styopa
Right side for standing makes that side wear out faster. Of course the transit authority wants to save costs by increasing the maintenance interval. Surely you don't think they're concerned about reducing passenger's trip time?
don't be retarded: stairs are behind fire doors so the stairwells don't fill with smoke in an emergency.
It's bad enough when some bureaucrat wants to protect us from ourselves, even when they have their facts right. Doing it when they are wrong is just adding insult.
And unlike those sillies on the escalator, you won't be stuck on the stairs in the event of a power outage. :D
This space unintentionally left blank.
Iâ(TM)m one...who speeds...(not speed)
are you retarded? if an escalator is void of people, running up or down the escalator is significantly faster than stairs.
The real problem with escalators is the idiots who step off at the end and stand there scratching their asses trying to remember how to walk. The people behind them don't have the option to stop so shit happens.
What stairs? Plenty of London stations only have escalators.
SJW n. One who posts facts.
Nobody much cares for escalators.
It's only when traffic volume exceeds a certain level that double-standing makes sense. But if it's not clear when "double time" is, the confusion can cause problems and injuries.
You need explicit and standardized timed signs.
Table-ized A.I.
Unless you're running up/down the down/up escalator.
I ignore the posted signage unless there's someone in authority to give me a hard time about it.
This only works if the left side is constantly full and moving, but often it is left abandoned by courteous right-side standers. If it were always full then overall more would get through. People in a rush can leave 2 minutes earlier, the ~20 seconds saved from walking up is negligible overall anyway.
It even has symbol painted on the ground showing right side as immobile and left side as walking. Frankly most people also stick to right side even when not prescribed e.g. frankfurt hbf people stick to the right side or go to the right side when they hear you climbing.
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I'm an American... people should GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY WAY! ;-)
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
People who stand on the left of an escalator are like slinkies, basically useless but you do get a good laugh as you push them down.
Escalators are really, really cheap compared to the metro infrastructure they serve. Just build more escalators when your trains are always packed. It's unsafe to have a full escalator, because a small accident can have a literally domino effect all the way down.
Ahhhh I always wondered why that was the case. You learn something new.
This.
"No skating/biking/Blading allowed"
Me: pshhh, says who? *kickflip*
These are probably up/down escalator sets both going the same direction.
No, in Japan the escalators in the subways are mostly wide enough for a double-file line on the same escalator.
"First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
Complete failure. Possibly because of the nightmarish idiotic posters that they had to promote this. Made me want to throw up.
If they're getting congested then there aren't enough of them anyway
I once had a ff /sit/ in front of me on the escalator steps for the ride -- the ff couldn't stand up at the end of the ride so the steps commenced grinding his ass. People were also falling over him as he was in the way - it took 2 people and some effort from him to get him standing again
Not just in Japan. I've been to quite a few countries in Asia, and the escalators are all "double-wide". In most places I've been, there are actually signs that say some version of "stand on the right, walk on the left".
You are, without any possibility of doubt, comically fat compared to the average American.
A few years back Prague public transport tried something similar. They attempted to convince people to stop standing only on one side of the escalators. The reason was completely different. When people stand on one side, then this side is being worn out more than the other one. This was causing some troubles with servicing escalators. Apart from that I don't see any problems with allowing people in a hurry to walk/run the escalators. Especially when there are no stairs to run around the problem. BTW: if you walk on escalator, then you are always faster than someone on stairs :). If it comes to question of capacity, then it surly will win standing on both sides. But life is not always about maximum capacity.
Let's call the escalator speed "1". If you have an escalator capable of holding two persons per step, the output would be 2/step-arrival if everyone stands still.
If 25% of the users are walkers, and ascend twice as fast as the escalator, that would result in a 2/sa metric. If more than 25% use the "walk" lane, throughput increases. If fewer use it, throughput decreases.
The critical factor is not "have a walk lane or not", it's "how do people use the escalator". And that is completely ignoring the "perception factor". A certain setup may be less efficient than the optimum, but if people like it better, it should be used. The amount of time and money spent dealing with complaints about the "better" system almost always outweigh the efficiency benefits.
Any time government wants you to change your behavior "for your own safety," when there is not a single piece of supporting evidence to be found to support it, it's not about safety at all. It's about control.
That's all there is too it. Government wants to test the boundaries of control.
Wreck less people ruin it for the considerate. Where stairs are an option fine hog the escalator. But Most people can stand to the right and let those in a hurry move faster. The point should be made if you have luggage use left side, no passing. Otherwise if space permits stand to the left. There are times where folks with luggage need to use right side since crowded in which case tough luck for those who want to go fast. Likewise for less mobile people old / handicap , babies etc have right to stay on right. Able body people should be considerate and step to the left to allow those non right to pass. This will continue with a few jerks making life difficult unnecessarily for others.
It's known as a general courtesy around the globe that this is how it's done and if you block the left you're a bloody cunt.
City governments may be looking at uneven wear patterns on bearings, rollers or belts that an escalator uses. I am guessing that keeping maintenance cycles down they would be saving money. I think it's in the cities best interest to let the faster people out front instead of forcing 300+ people cross the intersection at the same time.
~ People that think they are better than anyone else for any reason are the cause of all the strife in the world.
To ride their escalators. We could park our wide asses right in the middle, completely blocking upward or downward progress, while breaking wind continuously to discourage tailgaters.
The fire doors are then locked to ensure no one can block them open for easy access, thereby also allowing in the smoke.
The correct side to stand on depends on where you are. In Osaka and the surrounding region we stand on the right side. Only clueless out-of-towners from Tokyo would be dumb enough to stand on the left blocking busy commuters.
I would personally find it frustrating to be blocked when there is clear space beyond the blockage that I could be walking up. I have a train to catch.
There are narrow escalators and wide escalators. If you only see the narrow escalators you need to get outside of your small town. Those wide escalators are more of the standard than the narrow ones that only feet one person across.
BTW, fuck you - you self-centered dimwit.
You're just a fatass.
I'm in Osaka right now and they already have floor signs making people to stand in 2 queues for each escalator.. well, as I saw the traffic in subway hubs, I do understand.
When one side isn't reserved for walkers, it saves time for everyone
No, it doubles or triples the time for people who walk and saves time for people who don't. It's literally forcing a minority to suffer for the convenience of a majority.
And knock it off with your collectivist bullshit. Just because the MEAN travel time decreases doesn't mean everybody benefits. When Bill Gates walks into a bar, the mean net wealth of everyone in that bar increases substantially, and yet somehow they're not actually better off because of it.
You obviously didn't give yourself enough time. Stop being in such a rush, plan ahead. Then, step on to the escalator and stand still.
City governments may be looking at uneven wear patterns on bearings, rollers or belts that an escalator uses. I am guessing that keeping maintenance cycles down they would be saving money.
That's a valid point. But there's an easy solution to that: Alternate the sides. A lot of highways in the US have signs that say "Trucks use X lane". That lane changes to move the heavy vehicles to different lanes (and, thereby, extending the life of the road). It would be a simple (and cheap) solution to have digital signs that say "Stand on X side, Walk on Y side".
And... now you've tweaked my "inner engineer" to wonder which side puts more stress on the system. The "standing" lane is a constant, static load. The "walking" lane is an intermittent, dynamic load (of higher frequency).
Are there any mechanical engineers (or maintenance workers) who can chime in?
Am I the only one finding it weird that most of people stop as soon as they get on the escalator? Why wouldn't you keep going?
This is why I don't like big cities and mass transit. At the end of the day, all humanity gets reduced to automata. You are not a person with your own goals and desires. We much force you into a box that exactly matches all the other boxes so that we can increase efficiency. Step on the escalator, ignore your personal space and sidle up next to the other person that you have never met as if you're best friends.
No, thank you.
Aah, change is good. -- Rafiki
Yeah, but it ain't easy. -- Simba
awkwardly, as one foot went up, and the other down.