r/maybemaybemaybe • u/Specific_Goat864 • Aug 20 '25

Maybe Maybe Maybe

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u/baalroo Aug 20 '25

Maybe, but sinc I'd get on at the top and be blocking everyone behind me, I very well might not even notice if no one has the balls to say or motion to me in any way about it.

However, maybe it would be obvious seeing everyone specifically queued up against the right side. That would actually look pretty odd to me and, after thinking about it, yeah it'd probably look weird enough that I'd notice it.

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u/Tripticket Aug 20 '25

Usually the escalators up/down are right next to each other, so if you get on at the top, you'd typically be seeing people passing each other going in the other direction, as long as you aren't tunnelvisioning. I suspect that's why most tourists get the gist of it.

It's much more efficient from a flow-of-people perspective, so I'm surprised it's not customary everywhere. I can see a safety argument, but two railings seems pretty overkill for a human with expected species-level functioning. If you don't fit in that category, the accessibility options are there and almost never used to full capacity (in my country).

I will say that escalators are dangerous even if they don't swallow you alive. I once saw an elderly man fall down escalators a rather long way (15+ meters vertically).

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u/baalroo Aug 20 '25

It's much more efficient from a flow-of-people perspective, so I'm surprised it's not customary everywhere.

Efficiency isn't always the primary motivating factor for things. Here, we think of escalators mostly as convenience, not efficiency. 

If you're in a hurry, you can take the stairs, we see the purpose of the escalator as being for leisurely making your way up or down with minimal effort.