Escalator capacity calculator: persons per hour

Theoretical escalator capacity in persons per hour from speed and your persons per step planning input, the capacity you plan to use, and how many escalators a demand needs, with the speed checked against ASME A17.1/CSA B44 or EN 115-1.

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Result

Theoretical capacity (persons an hour): 4,500
Escalators needed for the demand: 2
Capacity you plan on (persons an hour): 3,375
Theoretical persons in 5 minutes: 375
Demand as % of one escalator's theoretical capacity: 133.3
Persons per step counted: 1
Speed within the code limit: yes

Not engineering advice; a licensed professional checks every result. Not a substitute for a licensed engineer, the manufacturer's data or the authority having jurisdiction; confirm the code edition your jurisdiction has adopted. First build: the code limits used here await a trade check against a licensed copy of the cited edition. Terms of use and estimate disclaimer.

Drawing

Load on each escalator against your planning share. Green is within it; red needs another escalator or a faster one.

Plan of the step band: your independently entered persons per step planning input.

Working

Steps passing the landing each hour
$n_s = \dfrac{3600\,v}{s}$
n_s = 3600 × 0.5 ÷ 0.4 ≈ 4500
= 4500 steps an hour (rounded down)
Theoretical capacity with 1 person per step, as entered
$C_t = \dfrac{3600\,v\,k}{s}$
C_t = 3600 × 0.5 × 1 ÷ 0.4 ≈ 4500
= 4500 persons an hour (rounded down)
Capacity you plan to use (your planning share of the theoretical figure)
$C_p = \phi \, C_t$
C_p = 0.75 × 4500 ≈ 3375
= 3375 persons an hour (rounded down)
Escalators needed in this direction for your demand
$n = \left\lceil \dfrac{D}{C_p} \right\rceil$
n = ⌈6000 ÷ 3375⌉
= 2
Demand as a share of one escalator's theoretical capacity
$\rho = \dfrac{100\,D}{C_t}$
ρ = 100 × 6000 ÷ 4500 ≈ 133.333 %
= 133.3 %

Working is shown in the units each formula is written in; the result figures above follow the unit switch. A numeric input is taken to 15 significant digits before it is used (1033.2293579541322 kg is used as 1033.22935795413 kg); every echo of it shows that value, and a computed figure substituted into the working is quoted to 15 significant digits as well.

Code checks

PASS
Speed at most 100 ft/min at an angle of 30° or less
ASME A17.1-2019/CSA B44-19, 6.1.4.1. 98.4251968503937 ft/min

Notes

The theoretical figure assumes every step is filled. Real escalators carry much less, because people leave gaps and hesitate at the comb; measured flows are often a half to three quarters of it. The planning share is that allowance (estimate): set your own.
Capacity is per direction. An up and a down escalator are two units, each sized for its own peak.
ASME A17.1-2019/CSA B44-19 prints its speed limit in both systems and the figures are not exact equivalents; the speed is checked against the US figure, the system you work in.
Converted US input values are rounded for display only. The calculation keeps the SI values until you edit a field.

Method

How many people a step band can carry

An escalator is a moving belt of steps. At a speed v, a new step arrives at the landing every s / v seconds, where s is the step depth, taken as 0.4 m for capacity. That is 3600 v / s steps an hour.

Enter the average number of persons you assume on each step as a planning input. This calculator stores no width to occupancy table. Multiplying steps an hour by your input gives the theoretical capacity: with an explicit input of 2 persons per step at 0.5 m/s, it is 9000 persons an hour.

Why plan on less

People do not fill every step. They leave a step or two between groups, slow down at the comb plate, and stand to one side. Observed flows are well below the theoretical figure, so the calculator asks what share of it you count on and sizes the number of escalators from that.

Speed limit checked

A faster escalator carries more, but the codes cap the speed. ASME A17.1/CSA B44 allows 0.5 m/s (100 ft/min), and EN 115-1 allows 0.75 m/s at an angle of 30 degrees or less. The speed is checked against the figure printed in the unit system you work in.

Formulas

Steps an hour

n_s = 3600 v / s, s = 0.4 m

n_s = \dfrac{3600\,v}{s}

Theoretical capacity

C_t = 3600 v k / s, k is your persons per step planning input

C_t = \dfrac{3600\,v\,k}{s}

Planned capacity and units needed

n = ceil(D / (phi C_t))

n = \left\lceil \dfrac{D}{\phi\,C_t} \right\rceil

Code basis: clause and edition

Standard	Edition	Clause	What it covers
EN 115-1	2017	Informative annex on escalator capacity; 5.2.3	Theoretical capacity from speed, step depth and persons per step; nominal speed
ASME A17.1/CSA B44	2019	6.1.4.1	Escalator rated speed

Rules are restated in our own words and computed for your inputs; no table or text from a standard is reproduced. The adopted edition varies by jurisdiction, so confirm the one your authority having jurisdiction enforces.

Inputs

Input	Unit	Range	Default
Code `standard`	choice	asme, en	asme
Nominal step width `stepWidth`	choice	600, 800, 1000	1000
Persons per step (planning input) `personsPerStep`		0.1 to 4	1
Rated speed `speed`	metres per second (m/s)	0.2 to 1	0.5
Peak demand in one direction `demand`	count	0 to 100000	6000
Planning share of the theoretical capacity `planningShare`		0.2 to 1	0.75
System the code limits are checked in `units`	choice	si, us	si

Worked examples

Each example below is a test the calculator must pass before it ships. The expected values were worked out by a separate implementation.

Example	Expected result (each in its declared unit)
2 persons per step entered at 0.5 m/s, ASME, 6000 persons an hour	theoreticalCapacity: 9000, capacityPer5Min: 750, planningCapacity: 6750, escalatorsNeeded: 1, demandShare: 66.7, personsPerStep: 2, withinLimits: yes
2 persons per step entered at 0.75 m/s under EN 115-1: 13500 persons an hour	theoreticalCapacity: 13500, capacityPer5Min: 1125, planningCapacity: 10125, escalatorsNeeded: 2, demandShare: 111.1, withinLimits: yes
The same 0.75 m/s escalator under ASME: speed above the limit	theoreticalCapacity: 13500, escalatorsNeeded: 0, demandShare: 0, withinLimits: no
1.5 persons per step entered at 0.65 m/s, EN 115-1, 5000 persons an hour at a 0.6 share	theoreticalCapacity: 8775, capacityPer5Min: 731, planningCapacity: 5265, escalatorsNeeded: 1, demandShare: 57, personsPerStep: 1.5, withinLimits: yes
1 person per step entered at 0.5 m/s, ASME at the printed US limit (100 ft/min, checked in US units)	theoreticalCapacity: 4572, planningCapacity: 3429, escalatorsNeeded: 1, withinLimits: yes

For AI agents

This calculator is also the MCP tool escalator_capacity at https://elevatorcalc.com/api/mcp, using the same function as this page. See how to connect, the llms.txt file, or the JSON catalogue.