‘Vertical traffic jam’ irritates Shanghai

BEIJING: Busy elevators have become a routine headache for office-goers in Shanghai, China’s largest metropolis and home to about 4,000 high-rises, twice the figure in New York City. ‘Vertical traffic jams’ are now hot topics among white-collar workers in Shanghai’s skyscrapers.

Their talks range from calls for improved elevator etiquette to more thoughtful elevator use. “You could count on the scene being spectacular about 9 every morning. People are lining up in long queues waiting to get themselves into one of the elevators,” said Rock Wu, a company worker, in describing the heavy traffic in his 24-story office building, Sanwei Mansion.

Wu’s company was on the 17th floor and he said he usually had to wait more than 10 minutes in the line during rush hours before catching one of the two elevators in the building.

Wu said many of the company staff had to give up bonus for early arrival on work because of the elevator problem. Bad elevator traffic sometimes has led to late appointments for important meetings, some office workers say.

Property management should play a more active role in directing the commuters as well as completing more technical work to better manage the facilities, Shanghai Daily quoted a city official as saying. They could consider sending a worker inside each of the elevators during rush hours to ensure every lift is well used as well as maintaining a good order inside the facility, said

Zeng Zheyi, director of Property Management Department under Shanghai Housing and Land Administrative Bureau.