Stand on either side of the escalator: Signs spotted at City Hall MRT station

Rebekah Chia
The Straits Times
Nov 6, 2026

Signs and standees have been spotted in at least one MRT station asking commuters to stand on both sides of the step as they ride on the escalator.

At City Hall MRT station near the exit to Raffles City on Nov 5, a standee bearing the SMRT logo was seen urging commuters to “Share A Step, Ease The Flow”, alongside a graphic showing people standing side-by-side on the escalator steps.

A yellow sign above the standee also read: “Stand on either side of the escalator.”

When The Straits Times visited City Hall station just before noon on Nov 6, commuters were seen continuing to stand on the left side of the escalator step, with only those wishing to overtake walking on the right.

For years, the standard practice on escalators in Singapore has been to stand on the left side of the step, allowing those in a rush to walk on the right.

But following a three-week trial in London in 2016, which found that standing on both sides of an escalator step increased passenger capacity by up to 30%, several cities around the world, including Singapore, have begun questioning the efficiency of existing escalator etiquette.

In 2018, major cities across China, including Guangzhou, Beijing and Shanghai, began moving away from the approach of standing only on one side. In December that same year, Japan’s Tokyo station rolled out a similar approach encouraging commuters to take up the full available space on escalator steps.

In 2024, Taiwan joined the trend with a campaign featuring prominent yellow signs in metro stations across the island, also citing inspiration from the London trial.

Meanwhile in August 2026, a government survey of 1,000 adults across seven major cities in South Korea found a near-even split between its citizens, with 50.1% in favour of standing on one side to 49.9% preferring that passengers stand still in two lines on escalators.

Research commissioned by the South Korean government has also found that wear on the right side chain wheels and guide rails of escalators was more than 95% higher than on the left, with the difference in wear increasing repair costs and shortening maintenance cycles by up to 20%.

The country has subsequently prepared a nationwide campaign to urge people to stand on either side of escalators, moving away from its long-standing practice of standing on the right and walking on the left.

In Singapore, netizens on social media have noticed and commented on the standee at City Hall station.

For those who commute to and from the central business district, the new messaging may come as a relief. In a post on Reddit, one user wrote: “Finally. I work in CBD area and the queue every morning for just the left side of the escalator is crazy. It always bothered me that the 50% of the escalator was being under utilised.”

Other users on the site have previously also voiced their approval of its message, with one user noting that “it is substantially more efficient and would help reduce bottlenecks when everyone (is) queuing to go on the left-hand side”.

However, not everyone is in favour of the proposed etiquette shift.

In the same post on Reddit, one user said the initiative “sounds good (but) doesn’t work”.

The user noted that the practice of standing only on one side of the escalator “allows users to pick their preferred speed based on a variety of factors”.

The Straits Times has contacted SMRT for more information.

• Additional reporting by Gin Tay

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