Sunday Strategist: You’re Using the Escalator Wrong

I’ll admit it, I’m a walker. I live in New York City and every morning I walk up my subway station’s escalator, breezing by other commuters in an effort to shave a few seconds off what is by far the worst 45 minutes of my weekday. The unspoken escalator etiquette says those who stand should stay on the right so stair-walkers like me can pass on the left. Apparently this is all wrong. Walking may be faster for me, but it slows everybody else down.

It’s simple math, really. Most commuters (about 60 percent) prefer to stand on escalators, especially if they’re long. Standing makes about as much sense as to me as eating pizza with a fork, but I guess people do it. If half an escalator is reserved for just 40 percent of people, the other 60 percent have to squeeze into a comparatively smaller space. A line for the standing side of the escalator inevitably forms, creating a human traffic jam.