Oh gentle reader, you may remember that the TTC, in an unusual show of speed, removed all of the “Walk Left, Stand Right” signs on all of its escalators virtually overnight. For an organization that can leave up public notices months after they are current (often with two conflicting versions of the same notice in the same place), this was truly breathtaking.
You may also remember that the TTC claimed the reason for this move was that the signs encouraged people to walk on the escalators and this was a safety hazard and we don’t want any of those on the TTC. In this dubious stance, the TTC was supported by the TSSA, the regulatory body that watches over escalators and elevators.
Today, I noticed a poster on the subway about escalator safety, no doubt a matter of burning interest to riders especially in those cases when the escalators are actually running. You can look at it yourself on the TTC’s website.
Notice point three: “Stand Right”. I’m not sure what you are supposed to do on the left, although point 5 tells us not to rush other passengers, complete with a photo of two people “standing right”.
One of these days, the TTC will learn to check out their own promotional materials before putting out bogus explanations for taking down signs that encourage people to follow an international standard in escalator behaviour.
Now for extra points, class, how long will it take for all of these “safety” posters to disappear from the system and the PDF to be pulled from the website? No fair stealing them yourself as souvenirs!