SMRT is asking commuters at City Hall and Raffles Place MRT stations to stand still on either side of the escalator. The month-long trial, which began on 29 October, tests a change to the familiar routine of standing on the left and leaving the right clear for people to walk past.
What SMRT Is Testing
SMRT Trains president Lam Sheau Kai told AsiaOne on 7 November that the operator would study how commuters use the escalators at both stations. He said slips, trips and falls remained a concern, and SMRT hoped that encouraging people to stand still would help reduce such incidents.
The operator also wants to see whether using both sides for standing allows the escalators to carry more commuters.
At City Hall, The Straits Times spotted a sign near the exit to Raffles City showing two people sharing an escalator step. An announcement played over a speaker asked commuters to stand on both sides and hold the handrail.
During the newspaper’s visits on 6 November, most commuters still stood on the left. Many continued to do so during the evening rush as more people passed through the station.
Raffles Place Was Where SMRT First Tested Keeping Left
Raffles Place was also the testing ground for the old arrangement. SMRT’s 2003 annual report records that the operator first tried its “Keep Left” scheme there in January 2002 to help passengers move through stations. By May 2002, SMRT had introduced the scheme at all 51 stations it operated at the time.
