Metro - Government InAction

The Washington Post ran an article yesterday on the commuter's continued frustration with individuals standing on the left on the escalator. Metro, hearing its customers complaints, has recorded new announcements to play over its PA.

Why, you ask, are there no signs?

Nonetheless, the agency has resisted promoting the
"walk left, stand right" standard because escalators
-- unlike their cousins, moving walkways -- are not
designed for walkers. The agency also wants to cut
down on riders who race through stations. Thus, the
announcement does not encourage people to walk on the
left, although that's common practice at Metro and
just about every other transit system in the world.

Metro also does not post signs advising riders where
to stand. Agency officials said they are prohibited
from putting up "Stand to the Right" signs because the
national safety code for elevators and escalators does
not allow non-cautionary signs to be posted within 10
feet of an escalator.

That's right, there is a bureaucrat out there somewhere that is rating national code on elevator and escalator safety. Not manufacturing or building codes mind you, but signage. Go us... the bureaucrats I mean.