Sunday Strategist: You’re Using the Escalator Wrong

(Bloomberg Businessweek) -- I’ll admit it, I’m a walker. I live in New York City and every morning I walk up my subway station’s escalator, breezing by other commuters in an effort to shave a few seconds off what is by far the worst 45 minutes of my weekday. The unspoken escalator etiquette says those who stand should stay on the right so stair-walkers like me can pass on the left. Apparently this is all wrong. Walking may be faster for me, but it slows everybody else down.

It’s simple math, really. Most commuters (about 60 percent) prefer to stand on escalators, especially if they’re long. Standing makes about as much sense as to me as eating pizza with a fork, but I guess people do it. If half an escalator is reserved for just 40 percent of people, the other 60 percent have to squeeze into a comparatively smaller space. A line for the standing side of the escalator inevitably forms, creating a human traffic jam. 

In 2016, the British consulting firm Capgemini calculated escalator use times using the London Underground as a model; the walking-standing system allowed walkers to traverse an escalator in 46 seconds, while the standers took 2.3 minutes. When everybody stood, the wait time was equalized at 59 seconds. The city of London also ran a real-world experiment at its overcrowded Holborn Station; by forcing everyone to stand, two people on each step, it reduced rush hour congestion by about 30 percent.

This is a big deal for cities. Across the U.S., public transportation systems are experiencing widespread ridership decline. In New York City, for example, people took 82 million fewer subway rides last year than they did in 2015. Ridership is also down in Chicago, Boston, D.C., and San Francisco. It’s not that people aren’t commuting; it’s just that they’d rather drive or pay for an Uber or Lyft.

Fewer riders may make subways feel less crowded, but they also earn cities less money. New York’s Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) estimates that decreased subway ridership has led to a cumulative loss of $822 million since 2016. The MTA has tried to recoup some of that money by raising fares—but given the subway’s deteriorating performance (in 2017, only 65 percent of subway trains showed up on time, the worst performance in decades), raising the price of an already terrible experience is likely to drive even more people away. Which brings me back to the escalators. 

In recent years, several cities have tried to ease rush hour traffic by asking commuters to stop walking up escalators. In 2017, the general manager of the D.C. metro urged everyone to stand because it would reduce the risk of injury. Hong Kong once deployed special "Escalator Safety Ambassadors" to encourage standing and last year the East Japan Railway Co. made a similar plea to passengers in Tokyo. “Don’t run or walk the moving escalator,” advises the MTA’s official website, “stand still!” I get what they’re trying to do, but I’m still going to walk.

Here’s the thing: an all-standing escalator might move people along more quickly, but an all-walking escalator would be even faster. Obviously people with a stroller or a bulky suitcase will need to stay put, but most of us have no excuse. This isn’t a slow-moving carnival ride. I’m just trying to get to work.

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To contact the editor responsible for this story: Silvia Killingsworth at skillingswo2@bloomberg.net

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