Dummy-Proof Train Doors
I frequent the Skytrain system here in Vancouver. And if there is one thing I hate, it’s some moron who will holds up the train by prying the doors open. This triggers the safety function, which re-opens the doors and attempts to close them again. Some inconsiderate people will trigger this operation as much as several times.
I get the feeling that Translink, operators of Skytrain, also don’t enjoy this behavior either. Plastered on every door is a sticker asking people not to hold these doors open. This act causes the trains to fall behind schedule, and is responsible for a lot of costly repairs as well, sidelining cars when they could be in operation.
So what I propose is chopping up the doors into smaller sections. That way when some idiot tries to hold up the train instead of waiting 4 minutes for the next one, he’ll only be able to pry a small portion of the door, not permitting him to board. Sure, someone could try to wedge themselves in between all the adjoining sections, but it will only result in futility - as well as a bit of entertainment for those watching.
As for safety, well if a hand or purse or bag gets caught in the door, that section will re-open allowing safe removal. The rest of the door will close. I don’t think it will be that jarring a change, it’s taking the existing design and amplifying it.
PS: Sorry for holding up the train at VCC Clark Station today. Hehe.
Posted on June 28, 2010, in Environment, Transportation and tagged Automotive, Energy, Environment, Transportation. Bookmark the permalink. 12 Comments.
Err… I get that holding open the doors causes delays, but is there actually evidence that it causes maintenance issues? It would seem to me that the doors are designed to be held open occasionally and that this would be a part of normal operation.
I will try to dig up a quote or press release, but I do believe Translink has stated that this behavior has caused a lot of wear-and-tear on the doors, and even disrupted service because a door would stop functioning at a platform. Hence all the “Don’t Hold Doors” messages everywhere.
I’m sure Jhenifer at the Buzzer Blog might be able to address that!
I think it’s obvious that it causes some wear and tear, if not damage. It should be a BIG fine if you are caught holding them open or trying to pry them open.
I’ve seen SkyTrain staff hold the doors open for passengers who weren’t even running for the train.
@Eugene: And I’ve seen them scold people for holding doors open. I think the ‘Don’t Hold Doors’ thing is a more recent policy, replacing the scrapped ‘No Food’ mandate that was previously in place.
Yeah, I believe you. I wish that they would be more consistent.
I hate it when people hold the doors for the slow people, the handicapped and for seniors. I know that they have their appointments, but generally speaking, they tend to have more time on their hands, and they need to give themselves more time to catch the train, instead of making 200-300 people wait.
Now that I think about it, maybe it is a new policy, as you said. It takes time for the message to get across to all the staff members. They might forget for the first little while. It was quite a while ago when I last saw 1 of them hold the door.
I just thought of 2 ideas today for skytrain:
1) Have a countdown to when the doors will close. It would be on the windows of skytrain, and 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1, chime. and countdown to when the chime will sound. That way, people will actually run for the train and know when they will close.
2) have a flap/drawer on the skytrain where the operator can put a key in or type a password and extend the dwell time of the train at the platform. For example, when a wheelchair needs to board the Packed skytrain/canada line, the operator can extend the dwell time by 10 seconds so the wheelchair and people can get on with out the doors hitting them.
These ideas are only raw, and they can have a lot of improvement.
Hey JKKT,
Those are some good ideas. I think for the second one, we could have a user-operated button on the platform to trigger an extended door opening? I only say this because I see Skytrain staff on platforms and trains a small percentage of the time.
As it is, I think there is ample time for everyone to board, it’s just those late stragglers who hold things up, in my opinion.
I really like the countdown. With all those LED signs in stations, they could telegraph this. Might cause people to run against the clock though (only drawback I see). But it would be so handy.
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