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A London Subway Experiment: Please Don’t Walk Up the Escalator

nytimes.com

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Re: A London Subway Experiment: Please Don’t Walk Up the Escalator

#11

Post by tehbeard »

josephmx wrote: post #5
dazc wrote: post #3

Maybe someone could explain why it is necessary to reach the top of an escalator before everyone else. Is your work so crucial that 5 seconds is going to make so much difference or is it that you just don't like standing still?

Some of the escalators are very long and very slow, you can save a couple minutes, combined with less congestion at the ticket gates (because you just beat most of the people flooding the station from your train)

Also catching a connection. Running is usually involved given the wonderful lateness our railways pride themselves on.

Re: A London Subway Experiment: Please Don’t Walk Up the Escalator

#12

Post by timclark »

13of40 wrote: post #7

I wonder if it would make more sense to tell people "please consider walking up the left side of the escalator instead of standing". It would probably improve congestion, but even if it didn't, people might get a little bit more exercise out of their commute.

That is the normal recommendation on the London Underground and that is what they are specifically not doing in this case as an experiment.

http://citytransport.info/Digi/P1240646a.jpg

Re: A London Subway Experiment: Please Don’t Walk Up the Escalator

#13

Post by 13of40 »

Ended wrote: post #9

>Walking anywhere in London or navigating the subway during rush hour means having to make a mad, dodging, aggressive dance against an oncoming tide of people, many of whom seem oblivious to Britain’s long tradition of walking on the left. I feel obliged to point out that this 'long tradition' only exists on escalators in the London Underground. Anywhere else in the country (or London for that matter) we walk on whic…

It took a while for me to figure this out, but there's actually an unmentioned rule in the US that you walk to the right when you're passing people, at least when it's congested enough that you have to choose. I see a lot of people from overseas struggling with this where I work, at least early on.

Re: A London Subway Experiment: Please Don’t Walk Up the Escalator

#14

Post by usrusr »

cm2187 wrote: post #2

As the article points out, letting people walk up should probably be faster. What causes the block is people misbehaving. Blocking the left line because they want to go on the right line. Stopping for directions at the end of the escalator. Blocking the left line with bags or packages. But the solution should be better education, not slowing everyone down. It's like letting people out of a car before getting in. In m…

This has been discussed here before: standing people pack tighter than walking people, therefore all standing ends up with more throughput, at the expense of lower individual latency (for the would-be walkers).

But you only need that optimization when escalators are at full utilization. In many cities, escalator discipline is low enough that the walk/stand lane pattern deteriorates when the escalator approaches maximum capacity. The minority who don't get it and rudely block the walkers accidentally apply the throughput optimization. London seems to lack a reliable distribution of rude blockers who would accidentally optimize for throughput when necessary, so they need to search for an explicit solution.

Re: A London Subway Experiment: Please Don’t Walk Up the Escalator

#15

Post by kyriakos »

dazc wrote: post #3

Maybe someone could explain why it is necessary to reach the top of an escalator before everyone else. Is your work so crucial that 5 seconds is going to make so much difference or is it that you just don't like standing still?

During rush hour the platforms are packed meaning you might have to wait for 2-3 trains before you can board. So arriving at the platform a few seconds earlier can shorten your trip by 10 minutes or more depending on your route.

Re: A London Subway Experiment: Please Don’t Walk Up the Escalator

#16

Post by 13of40 »

timclark wrote: post #12
13of40 wrote: post #7

I wonder if it would make more sense to tell people "please consider walking up the left side of the escalator instead of standing". It would probably improve congestion, but even if it didn't, people might get a little bit more exercise out of their commute.

That is the normal recommendation on the London Underground and that is what they are specifically not doing in this case as an experiment. http://citytransport.info/Digi/P1240646a.jpg

No, that means "if you choose to walk, walk on the left". I mean "Walk, and do it on the left."

Re: A London Subway Experiment: Please Don’t Walk Up the Escalator

#19

Post by Sacho »

13of40 wrote: post #13
Ended wrote: post #9

>Walking anywhere in London or navigating the subway during rush hour means having to make a mad, dodging, aggressive dance against an oncoming tide of people, many of whom seem oblivious to Britain’s long tradition of walking on the left. I feel obliged to point out that this 'long tradition' only exists on escalators in the London Underground. Anywhere else in the country (or London for that matter) we walk on whic…

It took a while for me to figure this out, but there's actually an unmentioned rule in the US that you walk to the right when you're passing people, at least when it's congested enough that you have to choose. I see a lot of people from overseas struggling with this where I work, at least early on.

Isn't that just a parallel of driving rules?

Re: A London Subway Experiment: Please Don’t Walk Up the Escalator

#20

Post by fredley »

I commute to this station every day, at rush hour. There is an 'avatar' (a projection of a person) repeatedly asking people to stand on both sides. Recently she has started becoming more sarcastic, I think they are A/B testing her instructions as there are quite often people counting at the top of the flight.

It is very, very difficult standing on the left, it goes against every fibre of my being to do so, but I've managed it at least once now.

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