Poor Maintenance can lead to important safety features on escalators and moving walkways not operating. This can have devastating consequences. In this instance only a shoe was lost thankfully.
Fun Fact: Did you know the world’s first escalator was actually called the “inclined elevator” and was invented in the late 19th century by Mr Jesse W. Reno. The “inclined elevator” was installed at Coney Island amusement park in New York in 1896 and was used to transport visitors between different levels of the park. Interestingly, it was not initially successful because people were afraid to step onto a moving staircase, and it wasn’t until the early 20th century that the idea of an escalator caught on and became widely used in public spaces such as department stores and train stations.