Stand or Walk? Proper Ettiquette on a Moving Sidewalk

If you've ever done any travelling and ended up in major airports, you've no doubt seen a moving sidewalk. They're designed to move people from one end to the other, but as I found out in Newark, not everyone uses them the same way. 

It's my thought that the moving sidewalk is designed to move you through a space more quickly than if you were walking, and it does exactly that unless you stand still.

At Universal Orlando there are several moving sidewalks between the parking garage and the main entrance. When we were on one of these sidewalks, three people stood rather than walked and blocked the entire width of the sidewalk. We had no choice but to stand as well and let the sidewalk do all the work while people who chose not to use the moving sidewalk were passing us, able to move faster.

The same happened in the Newark airport when a couple ahead of us decided they wanted to stand in the moving sidewalk for a little PDA. That's sweet, but I have a plane to catch! MOVE!

Some moving sidewalks I've seen are labeled to have people who choose to stand, do so on the right while people who want to walk can pass on the left. None of these sidewalks had that, so we never knew what we'd get. Each time we approached one it was a gamble to see if it would get us from point A to point B any faster.

Now as for the moving sidewalk's older brother the escalator, I think riders should stand rather than walk up or down the stairs as it moves. I've stood on the escalator at One City Center where the Q97.9 studios are located, and the next thing I knew I had someone breathing down my neck because I'm not walking up them.

So which do you do? Walk or stand on a moving sidewalk? What about an escalator? What do you think the proper etiquette is when using a people mover? Ever run into someone while riding that just drove you nuts?

Share your thoughts and stories with us in the comments below or on Facebook and Twitter. And please, if I meet you on a moving sidewalk...keep walking!