Etiquette advocates push the right side in Shanghai

SHANGHAI - For some subway passengers in Shanghai, the escalator etiquette of "standing on the right, climbing on the left" is strictly optional.

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Despite the repeatedly broadcast "please reserve the left side of the escalator to those passengers in a rush", few passengers are practicing the rule, according to a recent survey of subway passengers' behavior conducted by Fudan University and Metro Express, a free daily newspaper.

The survey, released on Aug 8, examined passengers' negative behaviors at 60 sampled subway stations. It found out that blocking the left side of the escalator is the most frequent "uncivilized behavior" in all stations.

Other wrongdoings, such as skipping security checks, littering on the platform, jumping the queue, and stepping beyond the yellow warning line on the platform are less-often witnessed, said the report.

Jane Jiang, a college student who has been volunteering at People's Square station for two years to promote "standing on the right, climbing on the left", said volunteers and metro staff have tried several measures such as giving little gifts to encourage passengers to follow the rule.

"I am disappointed that passengers are not doing what we have been promoting, despite all the efforts we have made," she said.

Making a smooth way for passengers in a rush is common sense and a standard practice in cities such as New York and London, Jiang said.

"In Shanghai, however, passengers don't quite buy it," she said. "A little etiquette on the escalator means a huge step toward a higher quality of civilized behavior."

Some netizens, however, disagree with Jiang and call the "standing on the right" rule unfit with "reality in Shanghai."

They list several reasons for forgetting the "standing on the right" etiquette, including "climbing a crowded escalator is too dangerous," "leaving the left side is not efficient," and "it's simply unrealistic to practice this etiquette in Shanghai."

"Subway stations in Shanghai are far more crowded than those in London and New York," a netizen wrote on Metrofans Club, a popular online discussion board among Shanghai subway passengers. Many wrote posts to refute the opinion that the "blocked left side of escalator hurts the image of Shanghai as a modern and civilized city."

Richard Lewis, a passenger from New York who has lived in Shanghai for two years, said escalators at subway stations do not bother him.

"But I do feel very uncomfortable when people elbow around in the train," he said. "The subway is sometimes too crowded during rush hours."