Why does the handrail of the escalator travel faster than the stairs?
From the confusion generated by this question, I have to assume that it is not always the case that they travel at different speeds. It has always been my experience that the handrail moves faster than the foot treads, so that if I hold on to the handrail, my hand is pulled ahead of me. This may be a US thing, I don’t know. I can’t think of any reason WHY this would be so. If the handrail and the tread need to make the circuit in the same time, then the handrail would need to move faster since the diameter of the end loops is biffer for the handrail. But I can’t see any clear need for this restriction — it would be a pretty simple matter to gear the two loops separately so they travel at the same speed on the linear portions.
