Since I travel quite often, it’s not unusual to find myself walking (or rushing) through airports. Sometimes it feels like a cattle drive. The masses dictate the pace. Walking faster, or even navigating a path around the slower travelers, frequently isn’t an option.
There is one passageway that typically offers an escape route for us impatient airport pedestrians … the escalator or stairs. When I approach the choice of the escalator or stairs, I almost always opt for the stairs. The stairs provide me 2 benefits: A little extra cardiovascular activity and a chance to move at my own pace. While I don’t consider myself overly claustrophobic, I do find standing still on a slowly ascending (or descending) stairway without the option of taking a step in any direction to be something that just drives me crazy.
Why? I’ll try to explain …
When I first contemplated writing this, I decided that there are two reasons why I prefer stairs over the escalator … exercise and speed.
- Exercise. Since I most frequently encounter the escalator or stairs alternative in an airport, I say ‘why not stretch my legs a little’. After all, I’ve been sitting on a plane for the past several hours and I’ll be sitting on another plane for several more hours. Now I do understand that sometimes with large luggage it just doesn’t work to take the stairs. And some of our elderly or injured really do benefit from the mechanical lift. So don’t think I’m advocating the elimination of escalators – I’m encouraging limited and appropriate usage.
- Speed. Again, I’ve just been confined in an airplane – an environment of limited freedoms and choices. For me to step onto that moving stairwell and then just stand there impatiently gazing around for 12 or 15 or 20 seconds, with people a step above me and a step below me, feels like torture. It’s especially painful if there are people blocking my ability to move past them, refusing a lane of passage. Why on earth can’t they just stand to the right and let us impatient people pass them by on the left? Somehow the process just feels lazy and way too slow.
I find it especially irksome if there isn’t an escalator-stairs option at all. Too often in airports an escalator is the only option.
Well as it turns out, I’m not the first to think about this topic.
The late American comedian Mitch Hedberg said, “An escalator can never break: it can only become stairs. You would never see an Escalator Temporarily Out Of Order sign, just Escalator Temporarily Stairs. Sorry for the convenience.” The Canadian firm Becal made a very funny commercial proving Hedberg’s point that escalators are simply temporary stairs.
In Odenplan, Stockholm a resourceful group transformed the stairs from regular to ‘more fun’ to see if people would take the fun stairs more often. The video is reminiscent of the scene from the movie Big when Tom Hanks and Robert Loggia danced together on the large piano keyboard in the toy store.
Here is the longest escalator in Europe and the world’s shortest escalator.
And on the Experience Project Q&A Blog, I found the following opinions about escalators and stairs:
- RightousGirl: ‘stairs’ – I don’t get nearly enough exercise.
- Intelflirt: ‘Escalators’ – you can see around you while travelling. I am too lazy for stairs most of the time.
- Jillian222: ‘escalators’ because they’re more fun, you can wave at people
- SolitaryRoads: ‘The stairs’ – they are quicker. I’m slightly claustrophobic so I can’t share a lift. And I’m mighty impatient, when I use the escalator I walk up it anyway, which is fine if it’s empty but really annoying if it’s jammed pack full of people.
- FeatherInTheWind: Because I’m a country hillbilly-hick-hermit [and] on the rare occasions I go somewhere with an escalator, I’m not used to it and I’m always afraid I’ll trip getting on or off and make an idiot of myself.
- Wack1985: I love going up the down escalator and down the up one … Who needs a gym, just go to the mall, and people will think you’re mad.
SolitaryRoads and I are obvious kindred spirits when it comes to escalators and their usage.
Do you take the Stairs or the Escalator?
Because I’m a freedom lover, a tad bit on the impatient side, and I can always use more exercise, when faced with the choice of ‘escalator or stairs’ … I’ll take the stairs 9 times out of 10.
Next Blog Title: Are You Gumptionable?
Next Blog Date: August 25, 2010