In this blog post, we will examine whether the two-line queuing movement in the escalator usage culture can meet both safety and efficiency.
I barely managed to get out of the crowded subway in the morning and ran to the exit. I had to take the 9 o’clock shuttle bus to avoid being late for class. If I ran, I would have time to catch the bus. I hurried towards the escalator to the exit, but there was a long line. I wondered what the line was for and found out that it was to get on the escalator. Oh no, I never thought this would be a variable. Everyone was standing in two lines, and I was in a hurry, so I kept checking my phone’s clock and kept pacing. But it was no use. I tried to take the stairs, but there were no stairs, only an escalator, so I missed the shuttle bus and had to wait for the next one for 15 minutes.
When I look at the escalators installed in subway stations or ordinary buildings, most of them have a single line of people waiting to use them. One-line queuing is when one side (the left) of an escalator, which is usually made up of two lines, is kept free for people in a hurry. This is a movement that was started in 1998 by some civic groups with the aim of creating a mature escalator culture ahead of the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan. Surprisingly, single-file queuing has taken hold, and now almost everyone practices single-file queuing when using the escalator. The right-hand line is used by people who want to go slowly, and the left-hand line is automatically cleared for people who want to go quickly to walk or run up the escalator.
However, recently, as accidents on escalators have become more frequent, a two-line queuing campaign has been created in place of the one-line queuing campaign. The Seoul Metro and the Korea Elevator Safety Management Agency began the two-line queuing campaign in September 2007. The two-line queuing campaign is a method in which people ride both lines and stand still instead of leaving one line empty and walking or running.
The background to the two-line queuing movement is as follows. The first is a safety issue. According to the Korea Elevator Safety Management Agency, there were only four escalator-related accidents in 2002, before the one-line-queuing culture took hold, but the number increased to nine in 2004, 43 in 2006, 108 in 2008, and 109 in 2010, which is higher than the rate of escalator increase. Officials from related organizations, such as Seoul Metro, believe that the number of accidents has increased due to the single-file line. People walking up the escalator are likely to fall down because they do not hold on to the handrail well, and if they fall down, their clothes might get caught in the escalator, leading to an accident. Also, the steps of the escalator are higher than those of a regular staircase, so there is a greater chance of falling if you are walking or running. The second problem is elevator malfunction. Seoul Metro said that the single-line system causes the load to be concentrated on one side, or the right side, causing uneven wear on the elevator and shortening the life of the device. Uneven wear results in inspection costs, and if it breaks down, replacement costs also increase. The relevant industry estimates that this phenomenon of unilateral wear will reduce the life of an escalator, which used to be 20 to 25 years, by at least two years.
As such, it can be seen that two-line queuing is superior to single-line queuing in terms of safety and cost reduction. Therefore, two-line queuing should be more commonly practiced than the existing single-line queuing. However, in reality, many people still use single-line queuing more. It has been five years since the two-line campaign was implemented, but the actual implementation is weaker than the publicity. The reasons why two-line queuing is not common include the following: First, one-line queuing is considered to be more efficient. In particular, people who are busy during the early morning rush hour can use the left line that has been vacated by the one-line queuing to get up quickly, while those who are relatively relaxed can stand in the right line. The second reason is the reaction of other people. When you are standing in the left line to get in two lines, you are concerned about the reaction of the person behind you. In fact, there are cases where you are standing in the left line and are scolded by the person behind you, or you are forced to walk up because of the person behind you even though you do not want to.
Considering the second reason, the need to line up because of people who want to go fast, the presence of people who want to go fast is the main reason why the two-line system is not being implemented well. So, will the emphasis on safety change the behavior of people who want to go fast? The reason for wanting to go fast may be because of an urgent matter or because of personal preference. The reason for this is due to personal preference, which can be improved once two-line queuing is established, but people in a hurry will not feel the need to follow two-line queuing. A mere few seconds can mean missing a bus or subway, so I think that unconditional enforcement of two-line queuing on escalators is problematic.
So, how should one-line and two-line queuing be enforced? From the perspective of general users, it should be enforced as follows. First, implement single-line queues in places and at times when there are many people in a hurry, and double-line queues in other places and at other times. The percentage of people in a hurry is higher in subway stations than in other places. This is especially true during morning rush hour and evening rush hour, when it is better to allow single-line queues to allow people in a hurry to get through quickly rather than implementing unconditional double-line queues. At Seoul National University Station Exit 3, there is a long line of people waiting to take the escalator up in the morning, but if people line up in one line to reduce congestion in the station, the number of people passing through the station will increase, making it less crowded, and people in a hurry can move as quickly as they like, while those who have more time can move at a leisurely pace. On the other hand, during the daytime when there are relatively few people, two lines can be used.
In the case of a general shopping mall, most of the people who visit here do so to enjoy a leisurely shopping experience, so the percentage of people in a hurry will be lower than at a subway station. In this case, it would not be unreasonable to implement two-line queues.
Some may argue that allowing one-line queues could increase the risk of accidents, but two-line queues can actually make crowded places and times even more crowded. Considering the risk of accidents that may occur as a result, it is more realistic to move quickly and reduce the time when people are crowded. However, it is true that the risk of accidents is greater when a single line is implemented, so in order to reduce this risk, it is necessary to get into the habit of holding the handrail of the escalator. Not many people hold the handrail when walking up the escalator, even when standing. If you walk without holding the handrail and the escalator suddenly stops, an accident will occur. If you get into the habit of holding the handrail, more than half of these accidents can be prevented. This is true not only for single-file lines but also for double-file lines, and you should get into the habit of holding the escalator handrail on a regular basis to use it more safely.
Third, use the stairs. If you are in a hurry, it is faster and safer to use the stairs rather than the escalator, so if there are both stairs and escalators at a subway station, you can use the stairs to reduce the risk of accidents.
In addition, organizations that install escalators should pay more attention to the safe installation and management of escalators, even if they are installed in a single line. In subway stations, there are often cases where only escalators are installed instead of stairs due to the narrow space. In such cases, the risk of accidents may increase if people gather. Installing stairs instead of the downhill escalator, where there are relatively fewer people, will alleviate the concentration on the escalator, and installing stairs together in places with high population flow or, if that is not possible, widening the escalator to secure extra space is also a good idea.
A long time ago, on July 11, 2012, an article was published in which a survey was conducted on citizens at Seoul Station in South Korea about the two-line queueing system. As a result, about 76% of people were aware of the two-line queueing campaign, but 42.1% said they did not follow the two-line queueing system well. The most common reason given was “because I was scolded for not walking.” People cannot stand alone when others are walking in a line. However, 78% of people said they are willing to keep the two-line queue. This suggests that the two-line queue movement has the potential to become as common as the one-line queue. While both safety and efficiency are important factors, isn’t efficiency more emphasized in our society today? If we put safety first in both single-file and double-file queues, a mature escalator-use culture that can achieve both safety and efficiency will be established.
