In a bid to avoid future accidents, the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) yesterday called on MRT passengers to remember the importance of holding on to the handrails when using the system's escalators.
"I can't over-stress the fact that, unlike the escalators at malls or department stores -- where people usually don't keep their hands on the handrails -- this precaution is extremely important when using the MRT system's escalators," said TRTC spokesperson Lin Chu-yao (凌趨堯).
"In order to efficiently transport the massive crowds that use the MRT system, all the MRT system's escalators are set at a faster speed than that of escalators at malls and departments stores," Lin said.
"So, even when people are carrying heavy loads while boar-ding the escalators, it is very important that they must keep their hands on the handrails to protect themselves from having accidents," Lin said.
The TRTC's appeal came in response to a recent claim by a Taipei City councilor who said that escalators are a frequent cause of accidents among users of the MRT system.
"According to the information I have, the accidents [on MRT escalators] usually happen to senior citizens and usually happen during off-peak hours, when they [elderly people] are most likely to take the MRT," said KMT Taipei City Councilor Wang Hao (王浩).
Wang added that the TRTC should pay more attention to this issue to avoid such accidents in the future.
In response, Lin said that the TRTC has not neglected any escalator safety measures.
"We've had on-going promotions on escalator safety measures -- distributing brochures regarding the issue, posting caution signs on escalators and having station security demonstrate the correct way to board escalators," Lin said.
He added that the TRTC also tries to advise elderly and physically-handicapped people to use the stations' elevators, rather than the escalators.
Lin said accidents often occurred when people were careless and were not following the escalator-boarding instructions.
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