When I lived here many years ago, people on escalators used to stand on the left and walk on the right. Now there are signs and verbal announcements all over the place saying that walking on escalators is dangerous, so let’s not. But people still stand on the left. There are still those who will climb, of course, but often I see the left side completely full of people just standing and riding, and the right side completely empty. I’m really curious why. If no walking is allowed, are there still reasons and rules that people have to stand on the left?
The answer that immediately comes to mind is that it’s like the left lane on US highways. No one is supposed to speed but most people–as long as they are not Prius drivers–will stay out of that lane to allow speeders to speed.
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