With the ordinance, which will take effect on October 1, passengers are required to stay still and not to walk up and down escalators. Although likely to not carry any penalty if breached, it is assumed that the ordinance will decrease the injury cases.
The Tokyo-based association called on users to remain still and hold the handrail when using an escalator, emphasizing that the equipment is not designed to anticipate sudden movements.
Railway operators and others have pushed for passengers to stand on escalators and hold handrails for years, despite commuters’ annoyance at the perceived interruption to their daily rush. Proponents of the “stand still and hold the handrail” approach believe safety will be improved. There are approximately 775 escalator injuries in Japan each year, but as many as 805 occurred between January 2018 and December 2019.
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