“The City inspects more than 23,000 elevators, escalators, moving sidewalks and wheelchair lifts annually. That is why I conducted an audit of the Department of Building and Safety’s Elevator Inspection Program.
A relatively modest 150 accidents are reported annually — mostly due to escalator passengers losing their balance and falling. Some 60% of these escalator accidents occurred at LAX — which sees about 80 million passengers annually.
Our City’s inspection and oversight of more than 23,000 elevators, escalators and other people-movers is largely safe thanks to diligent testing and well-trained inspectors.
However, the City can do more to reduce accidents, improve available information for the public and reduce overtime costs. We want to make sure that Los Angeles residents and visitors have a safe journey every time they ride an elevator, escalator or other people-mover.”
