I don't know if this is just a DC thing. Here in the district, we have a, well, a protocol for using the escalators coming in and out of the Metro stations: If you're just going to ride, stand on the right. If you're going to walk, move to the left.
You can always tell when it's tourist season, because the left hand side of the escalators fill up. I try to be polite in those situations, but it can get on your nerves after a while.
But one of the things about which I am curious is if this is just a DC thing. Do the same rules hold in NYC? If so, I'm not aware of it. Or are they reversed Coriolis-style in Sydney?
Article comments
1 - James Golden
Same way in NYC, and the same problem of tourists who don't get it. Even if they are the ONLY people on the escalator holding things up too. I just tell em to move.
2 - Scott Pepper
Same problem in Boston.
My solution: use the goddamn stairs.
3 - jadester
i dunno about european tourists, seeing as most european countries drive on the right as opposed to the left, but ehre in britain we are generally used to riding on the left, walking on the right, as it were. They should really remember that they're in a country that does the directions stuff differently though.
4 - boomcrashbaby
Here in California, it's impossible for most tourists to stand on only the left or right, as their circumference takes up both.
5 - duane
Here in California, it's impossible for most tourists to stand on only the left or right, as their circumference takes up both.
Yes, since we Californians are all so svelte. Besides that, we know (and practice) the basic stairway, escalator, and moving walkway etiquette when we visit other states. Take O'Hare, for example. When on the moving walkway, stand to the right and hold the rail or walk on the left. This means keep your luggage and other crap outta the way if you're going to stand.
On a similar note, although I don't ride the subways back East all that often, I do use the BART system once in awhile, and I notice that even Californians sometimes don't observe this common sense courtesy, which is to let people exit the car before they go stampeding for a seat. It's like trying to spit and swallow at the same time. It's easy: people out, people in. I can't remember if folks in NYC or Boston or DC, who ride more often, have mastered this. I would hope so.
6 - Scott Pepper
Boston has definately not mastered the "people out, people in" common sense. Getting off the T can be like trying to break through a defensive line.
7 - boomcrashbaby
Yes, since we Californians are all so svelte.
No, but anybody knows that a Californian more than 20 lbs. overweight doesn't have to take the subway as they qualify for handicap parking!
8 - JR
There's always a certain percentage of the local population that doesn't know or care about the protocol; the "tourists" constitute the seasonal blockage over and above that. My impression is that the protocol is also less universal out in the suburbs where the escalators are shorter and less crowded.
I once got stuck on the escalator behind one of those double-wide baby carriages and missed my train. Those things should be outlawed.