Factors Influencing Subway Pedestrians’ Choice between Walking Up Stairs or Riding an Escalator

We investigated the factors influencing the choice between staircases and escalators to improve the efficiency of subway stations, ease congestion, and prevent accidents such as stampedes. Four subway stations in Central China were observed. The data was analyzed using a binary logistic regression model. 72.44% chose escalators among 1,542 subjects. Findings from this analysis indicate that the probability of selecting an escalator increases significantly with increases in the height of the staircase and the degree of the load being carried and decreases with increasing queue length in front of the escalator. This probability is also related to the pedestrians’ gender and age, the presence of a companion and the time of use. We show that pedestrians choose to use stairs or escalators based on their physical fitness and the time conditions.