On Sun, 29 Nov 2015 13:57:04 +0000, Scott
wrote:

On Sun, 29 Nov 2015 13:00:51 +0100, Eric wrote:



I wouldn't object, I believe the capacity argument, and I always have.
When I first came to London 26 years ago, I was appalled at the convention
of standing on one side only. Think about it. Every time a step arrives
at the end of the escalator, 0 or 1 or 2 people get off. For maximum
capacity, it needs to be 2. On the right-hand side currently, there can
(with minor exceptions) be one person per step. On the left-hand side,
because, as you say, walking needs a bit more inter-person space, there
will never be one person for every step, so full capacity is never
being used.

But if people walk will they not spend less time on the escalator,
leaving more capacity for others? A 70mph road must be able to carry
more traffic each hour than a 30mph road.

You're assuming that the gaps between vehicles don't increase as
vehicle speed increases. They do on the motorway (though perhaps not
enough for safety), and they do between walkers on escalators compared
to standers.