MTA's New Energy-Efficient Escalators Not Quite Working

Though the 35 new "sleep-mode" escalators to save $2000/year per escalator) at select subway stations were supposed to start working yesterday, only some were actually working. Some were working with sleep mode functionality, but others weren't. CityRoom found out only 22 "were working as intended," due to technical glitches, and detailed how some of the working ones were confusing, like to the man who started walking down a sleeping up escalator: "As he walked down, the escalator suddenly activated, bringing him back toward the station. He did not turn around, but instead tried to race against the escalator, toward the bottom." Roosevelt Island 360 has more details about the escalators' effect on RI (and video).

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By Jen Chung in News on August 12, 2008 2:02 PM

Comments [rss]

JMH

Amazing how shit like this rarely happens when it's not some government agency trying to manage the project.
Certainly nobody ever injured themselves falling off an escalator at Shea Stadium.

NannyState

"He did not turn around, but instead tried to race against the escalator, toward the bottom."

'Racing to the bottom' is what the MTA is all about.

Snoopy

"Inefficiency is the first sign of success." A motto that the MTA union has held as the banner of their success.

ed_Extinct

MTA's New Energy-Efficient Escalators Not Quite Working

Sounds like they work as good as the old non efficient versions—not at all.

babyhitler

they should implement my idea of buttslide bannisters. If only old people, handicapped and pregnant people didn't fuck up my ideas we'd save a million bucks a year.

Schwartzie

Commenters, journalists, and other "I-told-you-this-would-never-work" cynics/skeptics:

When you try something new and different, does it generally work exactly as planned from the get-go? Or at the outset, does it resemble some flawed approximation of the plan until you tweak it and tune it up and realize where you weren't entirely rigorous in your thinking?

The sort of criticism I'm seeing here is particularly useless.

Snoopy

Is the dude still racing down the up escalator trying to get down?

hungryghoast

hmmm, were there any that were fully broken down forcing people to walk up/down without any motorization? Cuz that's about as energy efficient as it gets.

rdc

Amazing how shit like this rarely happens when it's not some government agency trying to manage the project.

colonelcasey

I think you mean walking down a sleeping UP escalator...

In any case, hopefully this will result in fewer breakdowns in the future.

lanciano

haaaaa! walking up a sleeping UP escalator. that is amusing to me.

although it could also be kind of dangerous if you don't have good balance.