There is an escalator that is wide enough for two people, the people on the lefthand side are standing still, the people on the the righthand side are walking up.
It's peakhour at the the train station and there are a billionty people funnelling their way onto the escalator in two lines depending on wether they want to walk or stand.
Why on earth would you then step onto the righthand side (where people are walking) and stop??
Why??
Why aren't we allowed to carry tasers to deal swift justice to these annoying people??
Why???
6 comments:
in London they just motor over the top of you. I got flattened when I first arrived because they walk on the left and stand on the right. I learnt pretty quick- maybe we should employ the same strategy here.
Anonymous beat me to it. Standing on the right makes more sense, as the people who aren't climbing and likely to be more frail can hold on to the escalator with their (usually) stronger hand.
The other thing with London escalators is that the culture allows you to loudly say "excuse me please!" and people get embarrassed and move sideways.
I must admit after a year in London that particular aspect of Sydney did bother me.
However, when situations you have just described occurred while I was working in Parramatta I'd often call down 3 or 4 people with "Excuse me, could you move over please!" Get a startled look from them and the entire line would start moving.
What's the worst they can do?
K - confirmed grumpy, fast walking commuter.
My favourite is always when people get off the escalator at the top (or bottom) and then stop. "Hmm, where am I going to go now/Ooh! I need to start ferreting out my mobile phone right here/I am enjoying our conversation and taking two steps away from the escalator would just ruin my enjoyment..."
On the other hand, I remember noticing when I first came to Sydney that folks on a sidewalk mostly walk on the left, while in the states they mostly walk on the right. And because I had had this pointed out to me, I really noticed that in London they just walked wherever the hell they wanted, and you never knew which way they were going to jump. It struck me as fairly inefficient, sure, but mostly it just seemed very un-British not to have an unspoken rule for something. (And then you head out in the country and discover that, from the standpoint of most of our outsiders stereotypes about the British, Londoners _are_ fairly un-British...)
Ob, I was constantly running into people in America because they walked on a different side to me.
Mel, the person who stands at the bottom/top of the escalator to pick their nose is always the person who doesn't think about finding their ticket until their at the barriers.
Tasers! we all need tasers!
Back when I worked at UNSW, we all decided that even a set of those rubber suction-cup dart guns would do. I don't even necessarily have to cause them pain, I just want a way of saying "You! You're being an idiot; stop that." Without actually having to go to any effort or engage said idiot in conversation. We even had a colour coding scheme worked out: green suction cup darts were for people inconsiderately blocking public thoroughfares, if I recall correctly.
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