MTA's Energy-Efficient Subway Escalators Unveiled

The MTA's problems with current escalators aside, the agency has just introduced new escalators that go into a "sleep mode" when they aren't being used. The pilot program includes escalators at 34th Street-Herald Square, Roosevelt Island; Jamaica-Van Wyck and Parsons/Archer. MTA hopes to save almost $2,000 (per each escalator) in energy costs annually. While some riders are wary, one found the glass half full, telling NY1, "It's much better than them not working at all! If in fact it goes really slow when I'm not on it and actually works when I'm on it, so much the better."

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By Jen Chung in News on August 11, 2008 1:27 PM

Comments [rss]

tsol

"the agency has just introduced new escalators that go into a "sleep mode"

...much like MTA ticket booth attendants.

NannyState

Yeah. It's really great.

dagblad

Lets not get ahead of ourselves. Installing a floor sensor at the entrance to an escalator that lets the mechanism know when it should be running is not "high tech," and if you look at the long term, this will save money.

I agree, these will just break like all the other ones in the MTA system, but hailing these as some kind of brilliant technological innovation is being way too generous.

ed_Extinct

i prefer the gas powered escalator.

aspiringrapper

When is an escalator in a NYC subway system not being used, unless it's out of order?

They need to fix the problems with the current escalators before worrying about this high tech nonsense. That, & the lazy people who ride them need to realize they're not a freaking carnival ride & they should either walk with them or move to one side & let more mobile people pass.

interlard

How about saving money by not running the AC in subway cars when it's not hot outside?

David McCaffredy

"No mam, those escalators aren't broken - they're in SLEEP mode..."

RooseveltIsland360

While the concept of creating a more energy efficient escalator is great the timing is not great to test it at Roosevelt Island. Of our 3 sets of escalators that lead from the street down to the lower mezzanine 2 of the three sets will be out of service for a month at the end of August.

If the third set breaks down during this test it can be a big problem. The MTA has promised to have maintenance personnel on stand by to prevent issues but with a planned construction outage the timing could be better.

http://rooseveltisland360.blogspot.com/search/label/Elevators%20and%20Escalators

eyekantspel

MTA's Energy-Efficient Subway Escalators Unveiled

We used to call energy-efficient escalators "stairs."

Saving $2,000 a year in energy costs by spending a LOT more than that to convert them is a terrible business idea, par for the course with the MTA.

Here's an efficient idea:

Replace all of the escalators with stairs, fire the TWU workers who can't keep the darn things running anyway, and spend some of the millions of dollars in annual savings on keeping the elevators working (to better accomodate the disabled/elderly/moms who might need them).