Top 5 essentials for a safe and inspiring escalator ride

May 3, 2021

Escalators are only as safe as the people using them, so a smooth ride begins by following basic rules of etiquette: Face forward, hold the handrail, and step off quickly at the end of your ride. If you’re moving with a stroller, shopping cart, or heavy items, then take the elevator. And whatever you do, don’t forget to tie your shoelaces!

Opinion is divided on one point, however: Should you walk or stand still? The answer is simple: stand still. You can use the opportunity to practice patience and enjoy a mindful moment. What’s more, you will also contribute to better people flow. It’s been tested and proven that standing (on both sides of the escalator) reduces congestion and increases escalator capacity.

In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, many of us have become fixated on cleanliness, if not outright germophobic. Anxiety about contamination is understandable in the middle of a pandemic, but choosing not to hold the handrail poses a different risk: injury due to loss of balance.

You can, of course, wear gloves. But this issue is also addressed with innovative solutions such as KONE Handrail Sanitizer Premium, an escalator handrail cleaning solution that helps protect users with automatic and continuous triple cleaning technology significantly reducing bacteria and viruses from the handrail.

Note, however, that self-disinfecting handrails are no substitute for washing and sanitizing your hands regularly and often.

City life without well-designed escalators would be like eating soup with a fork: an exercise in frustration. The humble urban workhorse permits massive flows of people to move intuitively through malls, offices, transport hubs, and other large public spaces.

But bottleneck-free journeys don’t happen by accident. Creating good people flow involves careful study, analysis, and planning. Trough data analytics and holistic simulation, the KONE People Flow Planning and Consulting team helps ensure good building performance that enables a smooth user experience.

Escalators are the unsung heroes of urban transit. Like many daily comforts, we barely notice how efficiently they work – until they don’t. The rare times we pause to appreciate our essential friends is when we confront an “out of order” sign.

Pre-emptive servicing is part of the behind-the-scenes magic that keeps city life running smoothly. With AI-based predictive maintenance, breakdowns can be averted before they happen.

Have you ever caught yourself taking a restorative breath once you safely step onto an escalator, after rushing through a department store or airport?

When you feel safe, an escalator ride offers a pleasant break from the daily grind, especially when your ride is enhanced with additions such as inspirational lighting, eye-catching design, and maybe even curious sights. A two-minute ride can even be an immersive aesthetic experience that you want to repeat again and again. As long as you don’t forget to hold the handrail.