Stairs and elevators
Everyone who comes into the building walks in from the street through the lobby, then climbs or rides to their floor. How quickly they get there decides whether tenants stay.
Stairs
People walk at 1.3 m/s and climb a storey in 14 seconds. For one or two storeys they take the stairs; further up, a working elevator is quicker. A stairwell is also the way out during a fire, when nobody uses the elevators.
Floors that cannot be reached at all show up in the people count's tooltip as "cannot reach their room".
Elevators
Each elevator shaft has one car. Build shafts side by side so they share the waiting crowd.
| Type | Car holds | Speed | Stops | Unlocks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elevator Shaft | 13 people | 2.5 m/s | every floor | from the start |
| Express Elevator Shaft | 20 people | 6 m/s | its lowest and highest floor only | Class A |
| Service Elevator | 8 people | 1.6 m/s | every floor, staff only | Class B |
- In a tall tower, run an express shaft from G to a Sky Lobby and start a new bank of ordinary elevators there. People change cars in the sky lobby.
- Service elevators carry janitors and technicians only, so staff do not crowd your tenants' cars.
- People who wait too long give up and take the stairs if a stairs route of five minutes or less exists. The bank panel counts them as "took the stairs".
Banks and dispatching
Elevator shafts of the same type that stand next to each other and share floors form a bank. Open Elevator Banks (⌥⌘E) to see each bank's floors, cars, average and longest wait, and to choose how its cars are sent:
| Strategy | How it works |
|---|---|
| Collective | Each call goes to the car that can be there soonest; cars sweep up and down collecting calls. |
| Zoning | The floors are split into one zone per car. |
| Destination | People going to the same floor share a car. Good at the morning rush. |
A bank needs at least two cars before the strategy matters.
Seeing the traffic
Elevator Traffic (⌥⌘T) draws a badge at every waiting crowd: how many are waiting and the longest wait, green under 30 s, amber under 60 s, red above. Zoomed in you also see how full each car is.
Waiting time matters: tenants weigh how long it takes to reach their unit (see Tenants and units), and short waits help your reputation (see Standing).
Wear and breakdowns
Every stop wears a shaft a little. Below half condition it asks for a technician. A badly worn car can break down: it stops, its passengers get out, and everyone else finds another way, often the stairs. A technician repairs broken cars before anything else. Keep enough technicians for the number of cars (see Utilities and staff).