BART says people walking on the left are causing escalators to break faster

The morning after the Bay Bridge was closed indefinitely for repairs, commuters wait in line to use the escalator at BART's Embarcadero Station on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009 in San Francisco, Calif. The morning after the Bay Bridge was closed indefinitely for repairs, commuters wait in line to use the escalator at BART's Embarcadero Station on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009 in San Francisco, Calif. Photo: Mike Kepka, The Chronicle Photo: Mike Kepka, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 22 Caption Close BART says people walking on the left are causing escalators to break faster 1 / 22 Back to Gallery

Those of us trying to get a little exercise or get to our destination quicker are apparently ruining BART's escalators.

In a series of tweets over the past few days, BART has said that walking on one side and standing on another causes "uneven wear" on the escalator. This leads to more breakdowns, creating even more problems for unhappy BART riders.

@BevanDufty Dont laugh, but we can't do this cuz it would cause more breakdowns. uneven wear if walk on one side but stand on other. — SFBART (@SFBART) January 13, 2017 Interesting. They are also saying this causes uneven wear. https://t.co/TX2KMvKlwK — SFBART (@SFBART) January 17, 2017

If you're bristling at the thought that you're unintentionally breaking escalators, BART isn't pulling this assertion out of thin air. An article from the Wall Street Journal cites elevator experts who are also warning subway commuters in China to stop walking on escalators:

"In a recent spate of newspaper articles, commentaries and social-media posts, elevator experts have warned the practice represents a danger to public safety. That's because of the uneven wear to escalators caused by so many people standing on the right side, which increases the chances of breakdowns. Besides, they say, escalators were never meant to be walked on."

And then there's the argument that walking on escalators isn't faster at all. British researchers last year found that everyone got to the top faster if no one walked, as it enabled more riders to use the escalator at any given time.

Of course, all the research in the world won't get most people to change their escalator habits. When the standing-only experiment was tested at one London Tube stop, commuters revolted.

"People refused to stand as told," one of the researchers told Inside Science. "People didn't like being told how to walk up the escalator."

BART, surely aware of this failed experiment, says it isn't advocating directly for people to stop walking on escalators; they merely want people to be aware of the information out there on the topic.

That's probably for the best. If the polite Brits didn't want to follow the new escalator rules, there's no saying what BART riders would do.