You arrive at the elevator, press the button and feel as though nothing is happening. When the doors finally open, the ride takes only a moment. The feeling that an elevator is slow often arises before you even step inside: during uncertain waiting, when you do not know where the car is or how many stops it has to make first. That is why manufacturers consider not only mechanical speed, but also passenger comfort.
An elevator may seem slower than it objectively is because we experience waiting without clear information, and with a sense of wasted time, differently from the ride itself. Researchers have also examined the difference between measured and subjective time in real elevator operation. Mirrors, floor indicators and clearer call systems can affect the experience even though they do not make the elevator motor run faster.
Waiting and riding are not the same problem
Time spent using an elevator can be divided into two phases: from pressing the button until the car arrives, and from entering until exiting. During the second phase, you can see movement, or at least the floor numbers changing. During the first, you often do not know whether the elevator has actually responded, when it will arrive, or how many people it is currently serving. This uncertainty can intensify the unpleasant feeling.
A study published in the journal PeerJ in 2025 examined real elevator operation in a commercial building. The researchers compared objectively measured times with participants’ estimates and also assessed subjective stress. They found a relationship between perceived time and stress; under their study conditions, stress while waiting was higher than during the ride itself.
This does not mean that everyone automatically overestimates waiting time. In the study mentioned above, subjective estimates were, on average, actually shorter than the measured times. The significance of the finding lies in the difference between measurement and experience, not in a universal rule that elevators always seem twice as slow to people.
Why does it help to see where the elevator car is?
If a floor number or directional arrow lights up above the doors, it provides information that the system is working. When there is no indicator, even a short wait can feel uncertain. However, the indicator itself may not always predict the exact arrival time, especially when the elevator is serving other requests along the way.
Clarity matters. If the system clearly confirms that an elevator has been called, people do not need to press the button repeatedly or wonder whether it is working. In modern group systems, a terminal may assign a specific elevator car as soon as the destination floor is entered; the way this is displayed then affects how passengers find their way around the space.
A numerical estimate such as “arrives in ten seconds” should be reliable. An inaccurate countdown can cause even more frustration than a simple indicator, so not every add-on should automatically be considered an improvement.
Why are there mirrors in elevators?
In popular accounts, mirrors are often associated with a simple solution to complaints about slow elevators. Their purpose is to divert attention from waiting, not to change technical parameters. A research article on human interaction with elevators describes this concept as a historically noted cognitive approach to perceived time.
However, this does not mean that a mirror in every lobby shortens subjective waiting by a specific percentage. A mirror can also serve practical purposes, such as improving orientation inside the car. Its effect on the feeling of waiting depends on the setting, crowding, safety and the particular users.
Information displays and simple visual elements are used in a similar way. They are particularly meaningful when they complement, rather than replace, necessary operational improvements. A broken or regularly overcrowded elevator cannot be fixed by a television screen.
Research on waiting for services by Pruyn and Smidts showed that the experience is also influenced by the attractiveness of the environment and by how long a person considers acceptable. In their experiment, a television did not automatically have the expected distracting effect. This work did not examine elevators alone, so its findings cannot simply be applied to every elevator lobby. However, it helps explain why space design considers the environment as well as the stopwatch.
Is the elevator really slow? Measure three things
If complaints recur in a building, it helps to break the problem down into specific parts. Measure the time from calling the elevator to the doors opening, the travel time between commonly used floors, and the duration of stops or waiting during transfers. It is also important to record conditions during the morning and afternoon peak periods.
The cause may be technical, but it may also be organizational. One elevator car may be serving many people, passengers may be boarding with loads, or the system may assign trips to several floors at once. High occupancy can create a longer time from the call to arrival even when the actual travel speed remains normal.
If an elevator jerks unusually, squeaks, its doors do not close fully, or it stops suddenly, do not treat it as a psychological impression. Report the specific behavior to the building manager and do not attempt to interfere with the machinery. An operational problem and the feeling of a long wait are different issues.
What can building managers and designers improve?
In an existing building, it is often helpful to first understand traffic peaks: when people board, which direction they travel and which floors cause delays. A review of vertical transportation published in the European Journal of Operational Research describes how control algorithms and simulations change passenger service. Decision-making therefore does not have to be limited to choosing between a slow and a fast motor. In some cases, adjusting group control is more appropriate; in others, operational measures or technical servicing may be needed. Simply increasing the elevator car’s maximum speed is not a universal answer.
Users, in turn, benefit from visible confirmation of their request, clear identification of the elevator car and information about outages. A long waiting time can be objectively unpleasant even without a psychological effect; it should not be dismissed as merely a feeling.
The best starting point is to know both values: the actual operating time and how people experience the wait. If an elevator seems slow, it is worth determining whether the problem is caused by the machinery, the organization of operations or a lack of information.
Sources
- PeerJ / PubMed Central – How long is too long? Examining waiting times and stress in human-elevator interaction (measurement of waiting, subjective time and stress) – https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12369606/
- International Journal of Research in Marketing – Effects of waiting on the satisfaction with the service: Beyond objective time measures (subjective time and the waiting environment) – https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167811698000081
- European Journal of Operational Research – Current and future trends in vertical transportation (control systems and waiting times) – https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0377221724003503
Gabriel Čatár
I'm interested in everyday things we encounter but don't always understand. From technology and personal finance to practical guides and fascinating facts about the world. At Offpitch, I focus on topics worth exploring in greater depth, checking the facts and explaining them in a clear, accessible way. My goal is to make sure readers take away something useful from every article.
