The escalator is a great invention. It prevents having to walk up and down a stairs. It gets you from point A to point B without much effort. It provides you time to look at your watch, tie your shoelace, use your celphone, look around or simply just wait a few seconds till you get off.

Sometimes, escalators are under repair. I don't quite understand how an escalator breaks down. Probably through use. I don't see any maximum weight limit or maximum passenger capacity like in an elevator. I haven't seen an elevator break down midway due to maximum capacity.

Sometimes, escalators aren't under repair but not functioning. It's either off or busted. Then, it turns into a staircase. I find it more tedious to use when it's stationary. If you tried walking up or down an escalator that isn't moving, you'll realize that it's even harder to use. The mechanical stairs are far wider apart than regular stairs. So it's like taking 1 1/2 steps. Sometimes it feels the same as taking 1 huge leap over 2 steps on a regular stairway. It becomes harder to use when you're hungry.

It's not totally useless, since you still can use the escalator to get from point A to point B. The convenient escalator just suddenly turns a short joyride into an exercise program against your will.