the-BA : Moving pavements

Some people like to wander round town of a weekend, checking out all the shops, buying a few bits and bobs, maybe stopping for a coffee. Others can’t stand shopping, and when they have to buy something they like to nip in and nip out. Some people can’t be bothered to walk, either. So some sort of conveyor belt round the city centre would suit them fine. A new high-speed travelator in Paris – called the trottoir roulant rapide (fast rolling pavement) – has brought this dream one step closer. It carries passengers the length of Montparnasse station at 9 km/h – three times as fast as normal travelators, and about the average speed of a Paris bus. It could be set to revolutionise city centre travel.

Have you ever wondered how escalators work?

You might like to …

• compare the speed of escalators in different locations
• build your own escalator
• devise a way to enable guide dogs to use escalators
• test the way that people react to travelators. Do they tend to walk or stand? How do they behave if it is fast or slow? What if they have baggage?
• design a travelator that will go round corners.

Further links:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3001182.stm

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