Wow, I could not agree more. Having to go to work in downtown DC with the thousands of tourists this past weekend who don’t follow this rule has made me appreciate this it that much more.
Awesome!
Awwww yeah! It should be the same in England, Japan, Malaysia etc. Anywhere that drives on the left should be left lane for standing, right lane for over taking! :D
Oh yes I love it when it works perfectly and slow people like me can relax and people with jobs can do their thing and hurry off. All is right with the world.
YES. my biggest pet peeve of all time is when people manage to block both sides of the escalator. the metro stations in DC are the absolute worst when tourists are around.
Running up the left is not only ok, but awesome! Once I ran up the hugetastic escalator at the Bethesda Metro station with a bunch of friends, and it was one of the highlights of the day. I’m not sure if that’s sad or not…
I couldn’t agree more. But just like driving on the expressway / freeway / highway, people manage to get it wrong. So simple, yet for some, so hard. Maybe it can be attributed to ignorance; maybe people just don’t know the rule. As a service to civilization, spread the word!
Great point – breaking this rule is a total pet peeve of mine.
This reminds me of my Uncle Yin – He has to walk up an extremely long escalator every day (from the WTC Path station), and plays a game with himself where he counts how many steps he can take before he gets to the top (more is better because it means he was walking faster). If the number is more than 45, he knows its going to be a good day. A nice little litmus test as you head to work. I think people standing on the left ruin his entire day.
My favorite is groups of people clustering on the escalator together who actually manage to get out of your way when they hear you coming. Thank you, skinny-minis!
“Even awesomer,” I was about to write, “it’s universal—the same is true in my neck of the woods, which is not on the road” Except that it isn’t. Oh well, still awesome.
Yep, over here in good ol’ Melbourne it is the opposite, and it REALLY gets on my nerves when people do not follow this etiquette and your left waiting in a huge queue on the right side because some inconsiderate person just wants to stand there ! GRR
It annoys me so much when people don’t walk on the right side. Actually I don’t care which side it is as long as there is some type of order to it and I can go quickly about my day!
I do this, but it annoys me when while your minding your own business, other people barge past you…grrr. If they in that much of a rush, you should of taken the stairs. Rant over :) *sigh*
There are three escalators because it’s the escalator from Canary Wharf tube stop, so in the mornings it is two up and one down as people arrive for work and in the evening it is two down and one up as people go home.
i encourage everyone to shout “ESCALUMP!!!” (n. a person who becomes a human speed bump by suddenly stopping at the top or bottom of Metro escalators.) if they see someone standing on the wrong side… as a dc metro rider, i appreciate this post. good escalator etiquette is important to know!
I live in Australia, but I was not aware of any rule of having to stay on one particular side. I just think it is common courtesy to not block both sides when you were say with another person, although many people seem to be clueless about this…
And yet, every last person in the city of Chicago who doesn’t acknowledge this rule ends up in front of me, with only seconds to spare before I catch my train.
last summer while in japan i learned that its the same stand on the right walk on the left rule except for when you’re in osaka where the do the opposite like in australia
There are also those “lovely” times when a crowd coming out of a concert builds up and mills around at the bottom of the escalators. Massive disaster in the making!
Even if you haven’t EVER heard of this rule…doesnt it take about two seconds to figure it out??? Same with walking to the right of a sidewalk…i dont get the morons that walk down the left side, crashing into people, near misses etc…you’re a human…use that brain…figure it out!
[...] shower you take after being away on a camping trip and not really being able to shower properly or good escalator etiquette (seriously, stand on the right and walk on the left — how hard is that to [...]
The worst is when there is an up escalator on one side, a down escalator on the other and a double or triple wide set of stairs in the middle. I find this around subways, and people crowd and line up for the escalator. Really? Is everybody THAT lazy? I always take the stairs and beat them all to the top.
54 Comments
January 23, 2009 at 12:13 am
Unless you live in the Southern Hemisphere, where it’s stand on the left, walk on the right.
January 23, 2009 at 12:16 am
Wow, I could not agree more. Having to go to work in downtown DC with the thousands of tourists this past weekend who don’t follow this rule has made me appreciate this it that much more.
Awesome!
July 15, 2009 at 2:36 pm
Yes I know what you mean I hate that SOOOOOOOOOOOO much lol
January 23, 2009 at 12:16 am
Over here in Melbourne we stand on the left and walk on the right. Awesome!
September 4, 2009 at 1:58 am
Awwww yeah! It should be the same in England, Japan, Malaysia etc. Anywhere that drives on the left should be left lane for standing, right lane for over taking! :D
February 20, 2010 at 11:10 am
And yet it isn’t – the rule in London is the same as the US: Stand on the Right.
Also on London Underground escalators, you must carry a dog ;)
http://ldc.upenn.edu/myl/llog/DogsMustBeCarried.jpg
March 15, 2010 at 7:12 am
Does that mean if you do not have a dog you cannot ride the escalator?
January 23, 2009 at 12:22 am
It’s that simple, and yet so hard for so many to grasp. I enjoy your posts very much.
January 23, 2009 at 12:46 am
I’ve just made this site my homepage :)
January 23, 2009 at 2:55 am
Oh yes I love it when it works perfectly and slow people like me can relax and people with jobs can do their thing and hurry off. All is right with the world.
January 23, 2009 at 4:32 am
So true. So true. Can’t stand people who stand to the left and causes a big line of frustrated people who want to walk.
January 23, 2009 at 9:47 am
Same goes for the people movers at the airport! I have a flight to catch people…
January 23, 2009 at 10:52 am
YES. my biggest pet peeve of all time is when people manage to block both sides of the escalator. the metro stations in DC are the absolute worst when tourists are around.
January 23, 2009 at 11:31 am
I ran up the left side once. Is that ok? It gets a little tricky at the top, but I kept my balance.
April 20, 2009 at 3:47 pm
Running up the left is not only ok, but awesome! Once I ran up the hugetastic escalator at the Bethesda Metro station with a bunch of friends, and it was one of the highlights of the day. I’m not sure if that’s sad or not…
January 23, 2009 at 1:30 pm
I couldn’t agree more. But just like driving on the expressway / freeway / highway, people manage to get it wrong. So simple, yet for some, so hard. Maybe it can be attributed to ignorance; maybe people just don’t know the rule. As a service to civilization, spread the word!
January 23, 2009 at 1:32 pm
exactly Koi, but the point definately stands!!
January 23, 2009 at 1:47 pm
Great point – breaking this rule is a total pet peeve of mine.
This reminds me of my Uncle Yin – He has to walk up an extremely long escalator every day (from the WTC Path station), and plays a game with himself where he counts how many steps he can take before he gets to the top (more is better because it means he was walking faster). If the number is more than 45, he knows its going to be a good day. A nice little litmus test as you head to work. I think people standing on the left ruin his entire day.
AWESOME!
January 23, 2009 at 2:06 pm
I’ve never heard of that, but it makes perfect sense!
January 23, 2009 at 3:52 pm
That’s SO true! Thanks for this post!
January 23, 2009 at 4:43 pm
so, what number is this blog on the list of awesome things? :P
i love this! :D
January 23, 2009 at 5:19 pm
My favorite is groups of people clustering on the escalator together who actually manage to get out of your way when they hear you coming. Thank you, skinny-minis!
January 23, 2009 at 5:37 pm
“Even awesomer,” I was about to write, “it’s universal—the same is true in my neck of the woods, which is not on the road” Except that it isn’t. Oh well, still awesome.
January 23, 2009 at 8:48 pm
Here in Oz, its the opposite, probably why in International airports there is confusion
January 23, 2009 at 9:02 pm
AWESOME! Love it. I’m from DC and poor escalator etiquette bugs the shoot out of me.
January 24, 2009 at 1:24 am
Your posts are just so incredibly random… and they make me smile, because they’re things I find awesome as well!!
January 24, 2009 at 5:33 pm
A) Why are there 3 escalators? One for up, one for down, one for both up AND down which leads to spontaneous combustion?
B) NOT awesome unless you enjoy getting assaulted by the shopping bags/purses/large winter coats attached to every person passing you on the escalator
January 25, 2009 at 2:38 am
So cool :-) Great shot. Love the clean lines :-)
January 25, 2009 at 10:39 am
Yep, over here in good ol’ Melbourne it is the opposite, and it REALLY gets on my nerves when people do not follow this etiquette and your left waiting in a huge queue on the right side because some inconsiderate person just wants to stand there ! GRR
January 25, 2009 at 12:37 pm
It annoys me so much when people don’t walk on the right side. Actually I don’t care which side it is as long as there is some type of order to it and I can go quickly about my day!
January 25, 2009 at 1:59 pm
I do this, but it annoys me when while your minding your own business, other people barge past you…grrr. If they in that much of a rush, you should of taken the stairs. Rant over :) *sigh*
January 25, 2009 at 7:08 pm
There are three escalators because it’s the escalator from Canary Wharf tube stop, so in the mornings it is two up and one down as people arrive for work and in the evening it is two down and one up as people go home.
January 26, 2009 at 2:00 am
ok now you are just sermonizing
January 26, 2009 at 2:02 pm
you did ask :p
January 28, 2009 at 12:42 pm
i encourage everyone to shout “ESCALUMP!!!” (n. a person who becomes a human speed bump by suddenly stopping at the top or bottom of Metro escalators.) if they see someone standing on the wrong side… as a dc metro rider, i appreciate this post. good escalator etiquette is important to know!
January 28, 2009 at 6:52 pm
Hahaha how funny… Like other commenters have said in Australia it’s stand on the left walk on the right! ;)
January 28, 2009 at 10:44 pm
I actually forgot that rule. I think it is faster if you walk up them.
January 30, 2009 at 4:16 am
I live in Australia, but I was not aware of any rule of having to stay on one particular side. I just think it is common courtesy to not block both sides when you were say with another person, although many people seem to be clueless about this…
February 1, 2009 at 11:18 pm
And yet, every last person in the city of Chicago who doesn’t acknowledge this rule ends up in front of me, with only seconds to spare before I catch my train.
February 5, 2009 at 6:00 am
last summer while in japan i learned that its the same stand on the right walk on the left rule except for when you’re in osaka where the do the opposite like in australia
March 16, 2009 at 10:01 am
You know, here in Australia it’s the opposite.
March 19, 2009 at 1:53 am
Seriously! I hate escalefters so much.
May 9, 2009 at 11:00 pm
There are also those “lovely” times when a crowd coming out of a concert builds up and mills around at the bottom of the escalators. Massive disaster in the making!
May 17, 2009 at 12:06 pm
don’t understand why this concept is so hard to grasp for some people ;)
July 1, 2009 at 6:24 pm
I have never heard of this rule.
November 17, 2009 at 1:27 am
yes! its not hard. i hate when i miss my train because people are standing on the wrong side!
November 23, 2009 at 8:05 pm
SERIOUSLY. tourists just don’t get it.
December 8, 2009 at 8:19 pm
Even if you haven’t EVER heard of this rule…doesnt it take about two seconds to figure it out??? Same with walking to the right of a sidewalk…i dont get the morons that walk down the left side, crashing into people, near misses etc…you’re a human…use that brain…figure it out!
December 10, 2009 at 12:16 am
I stand on the left and people pass on the right, it’s an Australian thing, same with people in Ohio, always has been the way
December 22, 2009 at 2:03 pm
It’s amazing how many people DON’T know these simple rules.
I actually just wrote an article on Escalator Etiquette – http://corruptcamel.com/2009/12/escalator-etiquette/
Cheers.
March 2, 2010 at 9:29 pm
[...] shower you take after being away on a camping trip and not really being able to shower properly or good escalator etiquette (seriously, stand on the right and walk on the left — how hard is that to [...]
April 8, 2010 at 3:18 pm
in singapore also its stand on the left walk on the right.
April 23, 2010 at 12:08 am
The worst is when there is an up escalator on one side, a down escalator on the other and a double or triple wide set of stairs in the middle. I find this around subways, and people crowd and line up for the escalator. Really? Is everybody THAT lazy? I always take the stairs and beat them all to the top.
April 30, 2010 at 3:44 pm
Toronto rapper Abdominal titled a song in just this manner:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syP34aW-r1k
Though it deals with more than the “escalumps” (I like that). Give ‘er a whirl!