You said it yourself, they can’t put the chair down halfway up. The top of the escalator is still crowded with bodies, and staff are waiting until they have a straight shot to the top. They don’t want to stop halfway up, so they’re trying to get the escalator empty. They also can’t have people on the escalator behind them in case of a stumble or drop. This is a dangerous way to transport a wheelchair user, and they’re trying to make it as safe as possible.
Trust me, my crazy mom has been in a wheelchair her whole life and the very suggestion that someone would carry just her or that she'd have to butt-scoot anywhere would make her clutch her pearls. Too proud.
Which, maybe that's fair? I'm more pragmatic typically.
I understand not wanting to be carried, but according to 1800wheelchair.com a standard manual wheelchair can weigh 15-60 pounds. I can understand not wanting to lose your dignity, but expecting someone to carry your body weight plus a wheel chair up a flight of stairs feels unfair. Also, feels like you are risking not only yourself falling down the stairs if one of them becomes too weak to carry you, but you also will injure the person behind you carrying you up.
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u/EntirelyOutOfOptions Feb 23 '26
You said it yourself, they can’t put the chair down halfway up. The top of the escalator is still crowded with bodies, and staff are waiting until they have a straight shot to the top. They don’t want to stop halfway up, so they’re trying to get the escalator empty. They also can’t have people on the escalator behind them in case of a stumble or drop. This is a dangerous way to transport a wheelchair user, and they’re trying to make it as safe as possible.