Escalator Etiquette: A Rant
Throughout history society has dictated a number of social norms: don’t chew with your mouth open, cover your mouth before you sneeze, wash your hands before leaving the lavatory. Then there are rules that are learned such as the rules of the road. Even if in a certain country people drive on the other side of the street the rules are generally the same. These same general rules tend to apply to pedestrian traffic flows as well. So if these rules have applied so well in society within most public area, why do they not work on an escalator.
People that stand on the left side of the escalator annoy me. That’s right, it annoys me. Nothing drives me crazier than an inability to continue walking up or down an escalator and get to where I’m going quicker. It applies to standard driving rules. The right lane is the slow lane and the left is the passing lane. SO LET ME PASS!! A broken down escalator becomes stairs anyway so why can’t I use those same stairs when it’s working? I can’t tell you how many times I have missed my subway by a second because someone decided to group up with their friends on the escalator to chat.
I admire those who can dilly dally their way through NYC, but I have places to go, people to see, and a lot to accomplish in a day. Some people may see me as impatient. I prefer to see myself as efficient. So stand up for your right to make your train. It’s time to teach society that left side standing is a no-no, and make escalator traveling a less stressful and an overall happier experience.
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The Graduate Baruchian 
You tell’em! I have a solution . . . a taser. That’s right. Be courteous or else! Zap. Well at least in Lem’s mind.
I do wonder what’s come of the world. Either I’ve gotten very cranky, or so much of the world is become rude and ruder. The same behavior you describe is everywhere: slow drivers in the left lane, turning drivers taking an ultra-wide turn like a semi, people walking three or four abreast down the side walk.
Don’t even get me started on washing of hands after the bathroom. It’s horrifying. Up and down social classes.
I agree with you; slow drivers in the fast lane and people standing still on the escalator should yield to those who want to pass. Some people are oblivious to what’s going on around them.
Absolutely agree with everything you said! An escalator is NOT a place for you to stop moving. We don’t have a problem if people decide to stand on an escalator, the problem is when people selfishly block the way of other people who, unlike the blockers, have places to go, people to see.
Here in Australia, we stand on the left and walk on the right but we totally understand what you’re saying. It is absolutely infuriating when ignorant people do not adhere to this common sense of logic.
This is why we have created a campaign to educate people on escalator etiquette here in Sydney. Come check us out! –> http://keepcalmkeepleft.wordpress.com/