Escalator Versus Elevators

Yes; no, yes.

I am not an expert on people movers, but if asked what I think, here is what I would say.

Escalators take up more real estate than elevators. Escalators can move more passengers per hour than an elevator. Maintenance, I would expect would be the same for either. In the event of a fire, escalators can still be used as a stairway while an elevator cannot operate. It's pretty much a tossup. The governing factor would be the number of stories served. Wheel chair access is by elevator only. The time to cover any number of stories is a big factor. Generally businesses have both escalators and elevators. Operating costs may be higher for escalators as they operate continuously while elevators operate on demand. The elevator is an integral part of a buildings structure and has to be planned for during construction. Escalators can be retrofitted into a building without compromising structural integrity. One other thing; there are passenger and service elevators, both of which are usually required. I would suspect elevators are always required regardless of whether an escalator is used or not.

Fairly good agreement. Escalators have more moving parts, and people sue for "accidents due to negligence" more for escalators. I would prefer to retrofit an elevator than an escalator, escalators do take up more room, to the extent that they screw with the structural arrangement sometimes.

For a while, I was designing structural changes to accommodate replacement, escalators. New standards were in play, the slope section was the same but they had three horizontal steps top and bottom against the two when the structures were first built. You might be surprised at the difference to the structure the extra sixteen inch tread, top and bottom can make, especially when one end was supported on a main beam.

Dogsbestfriend,

I don't know the code details, but I suspect that escalators direction may have to be towards the egress floor in the event of a fire. --JMM

Maintenance cost may be less than the elevators.

There is no risk of trapping the people on the escalator, like in the elevator. Therefore theoretically no need to stop the escalator during a fire. But practically, it is safe to stop the escalator, because of the rushing and crowding of people on the escalator, which cause people falling and rolling down the steps, during a fire escape call.