Eric D's Shanghai Efficiency Tips: Escalators

As Shanghai pushes to be farther & farther in the forefront of Chinese & Asian society, we should take a look at what we, both Chinese & expats can do to further see Shanghai into the future of Asian commerce & industry. Let's look at the Metro escalator facilities. See exhibit A below.

Exhibit A

From Shanghai, Chi...

Here we have a pic of a typical escalator (gratuitously ripped from flickr.com). Note the girl patiently waiting for her business partner at the bottom. "Where is he?" she wonders. "Surely he should be down the escalator by now! What's the hold-up?"

The hold up is simple. Upon exiting the train, commuters en masse & en volume rush to the escalator to head out of the metro station. The winners of this mad rush have a choice. Walk... or stand. They quickly make their decision as the victors in this contest, and ultimately choose to stand. While they're quick to get to the escalator, they're slow in coming down the escalator. (imagine the chaos that would ensue if the escalator should suddenly stop! The whole city would be stranded on these moving monstrosities!)

Ol' Eric has a simple, yet effective solution to quickly & vastly improve Shanghai's efficiency in the metro system. When going up the escalator, should you decide to stand, think of how you could greatly improve the efficiency of our fair city by standing on the right side of the escalator only, thereby allowing others wishing to walk access to an obstacle-free path up the elevator. See exhibit B below.

Exhibit B

From Shanghai, Chi...

For going down the escalator, the same principles could apply. By standing on only one side of the escalator, you are allowing people with urgent business to continue on their way to their urgent business meetings! See Exhibit C on the proper usage of down-directional escalators.

Exhibit C

From Shanghai, Chi...

So what possible motivation do you have to follow Skyline's rule of escalator usage? Imagine if you will, you and your significant other, riding the escalator. You both won the big race to the escalator, and you choose to stand, side by side, holding hands, his hand down her back pocket, and her hand down... well you get the idea. But behind you is a diplomat from the great nation of San Serriffe. He has documented evidence in his briefcase that must get to a meeting at the German Consulate, located next door to Castle Oktober. This information could avoid a great war between Germany & San Serriffe. By standing there, you and your significant other could cause him to miss the next train to the embassy, thereby causing him to be late for a meeting, thereby causing the German officials to storm out of the meeting, insulted and angry. Next thing you know, Germany is attacking San Serriffe, England is attacking the Falklands, America is attacking bottles of Scotch & all chaos breaks loose. All because your hand was down his... you get the idea.

The moral of this story is... get the hell out of Eric's way on the escalator. Okay?