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Tag: Queues

Standing on Escalators and Classroom Teaching

During the holiday travels, one of the vexing things that you might have come across is people in a hurry, those who hurtle by at excessive speed on airport escalators, as you stand.  Conversely, you might be the one trying to get back to your boarding area but blocked by a slow traveler carrying an unmanageable volume of luggage bags, more than what one ought to carry on enjoyable trips. In this article, I return to one of my favorite Operations topics in social behavior. Should people stand left (or right, depending on the country) in moving escalators, so that people in a hurry can walk by?  Is that efficient? It turns out not. It is better for everyone if we do…

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