There were scenes of confusion and mass mutiny at Holborn tube station today, as two members of TfL staff wielding loudspeakers requested that commuters stand on the right AND ON THE LEFT of escalators.
The move — which flouts well-worn commuter convention — is part of a three-week experiment at the central London tube station, to work out whether, if people stand still on the moving staircases at peak times, they actually get out of the station quicker.
Teaching a commuter new tricks, however, is not easy, and reports from Twitter suggest not all is going according to plan:
Valiant staffer at Holborn tube trying to get people to stand on both sides of one escalator to ease congestion. Commuters look mortified.
— Kora-Lee Holmes (@KoraLee_Holmes) November 25, 2015
We wish TfL good luck over the next 20 or so days.
They haven't thought through the implications of what they're doing. It won't end well. It hasn't even started well.
argh
Interesting. There are a number of stations around the capital where the queue to stand on the right is so long that it impedes those that try to get to the left to walk up. This in turn means that it is possible for someone already at the foot of the escalator to make it to the top on the right, before a lefty can even make it to the foot of the stairs. By making everyone stand, it stands to reason that it will clear the queues at the bottom, getting people out faster.
I think it's certainly worth a try to see how things go, especially as I am seeing more and more people who 1) are new to london and don't understand the rules, and 2) don't want a free workout before they get to the office.
I saw this yesterday - I thought it was some kind of social experiment, seeing if Londoners will break The Code because an authority figure tells you to. It didn't work, nobody stood on the left nor did anyone walk.
What next? Drive on whatever side of the road and in whatever direction you please? How will I feel superior to tourists now? Don't TFL care?!
I simply won't stand for it.
Another case where the mathematical predictions of "Ideal behaviour" run up against REAL PEOPLE.
The word to describe this is, err ... STUPID
Why not just WALK on both sides of the escalator?