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Comment by verbify | Hacker News Reader

I think it is humorous that broken escalators is the go-to example of graceful degradation, when in real life I've observed multiple times that when an escalator is broken, they rope it off (this is not uncommon on London's tube).

Apparently when an escalator is broken the space between steps is uneven, and the escalator is metal and sharp, causing safety issues (although I've written other theories below in further comments).

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From a post on Quora about why escalators are harder to walk up: "A stopped escalator IS indeed harder to climb than a fixed staircase of the same height. A typical conventional fixed staircase has tread risers (steps) that are ~7 inches high and 11 inches deep. The escalator is likely to have tread risers that are ~8 inches high and 16 inches deep."

People are more likely to fall climbing a stopped escalator than stairs due to the different stair height and depth.

I've only seen escalators roped off when someone is working on them. Usually I just see people approach the escalator, notice it's not working and take another one. Or step on the escalator, look confused for a moment, and then start walking.

But I don't live in London.

The parent is BS. You are almost always allowed to use stopped escalators in London.

They are sometimes blocked off but it’s unusual.

In Penn Station (NY) they let people use broken escalators all the time. I think it's because it's so crowded, people would get angry if they cordoned them off.

Washington DC's metro is famous for broken escalators, and yes they usually block them off.

Given the fact that nearly every single subway station has about 5 escalators I am not surprised there will be breaking from constant use.

In fact I found then quite reliable compare to my old college's elevators that saw less than half the use.

Same with BART in the SF Bay Area. When the escalators are working, they're usually working the wrong way (i.e. the only escalator is going down instead of up, making that escalator effectively useless except as a fitness machine).

If it's a safety issue when still, surely it's a safety issue while in motion?

Possibly? Maybe the issue is that it damages the elevator (uneven pressure on one side). Maybe people trip because they're subconsciously expecting the escalator to move. Maybe they're worried it'll start moving suddenly, and people will trip. Regardless, I've observed that they cordon them off.

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