On 5 Sep, 11:00, Tom Anderson wrote:
On Tue, 4 Sep 2007, MIG wrote:
On Sep 4, 12:34 pm, Tom Anderson wrote:
On Sat, 1 Sep 2007, Boltar wrote:

I can't help thinking that the escalators would get more people up and
down them in a given time if people could stand on both sides in the
rush hour since you always get a (sometimes dangerously) large queue
for the right side and far fewer people going on the left (plus theres
always some idiot tourist who can't read who blocks it anyway). I
realise it might inconvenience people in a hurry but I reckon the pros
would outweight the cons.

The point about increasing throughput to avoid crowds forming is a good
one, but as another poster pointed out, it might just lead to moving
the crowd elsewhere. Still, if it's an up escalator, moving the crowd
from the platforms to the ticket hall might be a good thing from a
safety perspective.

I've never been claustrophobic, but getting off the Jubilee in the
morning rush hour does make me feel nervous. A very confined area, very
far below ground, crammed solid most days. Getting the maximum number
of people up the escalator is a Good Thing without doubt.

It was like that at Euston this morning - coming from the northbound
Northern/Victoria platforms, the queue for the escalators ran halfway down
the passageway.

And another thing! Those little wheelie briefcases - BAN THEM! For
suitcases, fair enough, it's a sensible way to move them, but i see an
sizeable number of people, mostly but not exclusively women, with really
quite small bags on wheels which they drag behind them. We're talking
something the size of a suitcase or a small handbag, smaller than my
rucksack, which could quite easily be carried.

I don't like them much, either ... but in my job I end up moving
around London quite a lot on any given day with a rucksack which
contains a laptop and often quite a lot of documentation. I find the
rucksack fine - in fact I use a particularly small rucksack to enforce
myself into only taking essentials and keep the weight down but
sometimes have to take a big one when that's not practical. Some of
the girls in the office find that they get a sore back if they carry
around a rucksack for too long, so they use a wheely - for the more
slight girls, it's a must. A 50kg girl can't be expected to lug around
10-15% of her bodyweight on her back around the City for extended
periods. And in the long run it's better than lots of expensive visits
to the physio.

If you picked up the wheely and strapped it to her back, she'd
probably fall over. That probably means she needs the wheely.

Granted, I am sure there are plenty of fairly empty wheelys
(wheelies?) around; but a lot of them are actually necessary.

D.