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this post was submitted on 11 May 2026
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Coolness aside, i don't really like the fact that it's not free but i guess if it was then you would probably have loads of people riding it all day for fun, which would drive up operating costs needlessly and inconvenience the people who actually need it.
I still think 3 Yuan is a bit steep (pun intended). Maybe just a token 1 Yuan? It's public infrastructure after all and in a city that steep people may need to use it multiple times a day every day to get to and from work, shopping, etc. What do you think?
In the city I'm in, buses are about 1.8 yuan, and the subway is usually 2-4 yuan (depending on trip length). So if you think of it as the equivalent of a bus, then it's a bit pricy, but not overly so.
Not quite the same as a bus though is it? It's much slower and also probably the operating costs are lower, i would assume. (Actually that sort of sounds like a high school physics homework problem: what is the electricity consumption of twenty escalators compared to an electric bus? Hahaha.)
I guess it depends on perspective. A bus, in simplest terms, shortens a trip. People pay to take a bus for 10 minutes to save an hour walking. It seems this escalator fits a similar purpose in the transit system of the district. Save an hour climbing stairs by taking a 20 minute escalator ride. Not identical, but similar.
It is probably nearly free to run but the per rider upfront cost is probably much higher (construction costs, relatively low ridership). It's also a fairly unique solution, which means it does not benefit as much from standardization, though it seems most of the parts are standardized. Both of the systems would have operating labour costs in addition to the electrical costs (maintenance, IT support, financial etc.). I would love to see a full lifecycle cost breakdown comparison.
It could very well turn out that the escalator is way overpriced per ride, I just don't have the data to say with certainty. I just think that its not unreasonable when compared against other forms of public transit.
edit: I decided to do some napkin math based on the data at the following source: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-worlds-longest-outdoor-escalator-just-opened-in-china-riding-the-3000-foot-long-system-to-the-top-takes-more-than-20-minutes-180988468/
if we assume zero O&M costs, loans, or anything else, the breakeven for the infrastructure is about 14 years.
for a comparison to an electric bus, including the cost of the driver and the cost of electricity, but ignoring distributed O&M Costs, (e.g. depots, maintenance yards, roads, etc.) the breakeven for the equipment is about 2 years.
This assumes the busiest traffic routes, with lower ridership routes having much longer break-even points. A quick search indicates 5-7 years as the average break even point.