Question: Why don't elevators indicate which floor it is going to?
Right now, all the elevators that I know, including the smart lift at the MOE, only indicates whether the lift is going up, down and which floor it is at currently (unfortunately, all are optional... as some lifts has the philosophy of it'll come when it comes!). None has ever indicated its destination, e.g. its at 4th floor, going to the 17th.
There has been various efforts in making lifts faster, including behavioural tricks like installing mirrors as distraction... but why hasn't there been a lift that tells me where its going? How is that helpful? As helpful as a progress bar when you're downloading 5%... 65%... 95%...
I've tried this question with a few people I know, and the common replies are:
Ha? Who will need it? If I know its going to the top floor, most (all) people will still wait for it! How many would actually take the stairs?
Totally missing the point. Its not about what actions is expected to be taken, its about giving people a chance to even make a decision. The next time you look at the count down timer at the pedestrian crossing, ask yourself if its truely useless, why didn't you just look at the flashing green man?
Imagine years ago, with no cellphone, no pager, you're waiting for a friend who is apparently late. You know he's on-the-way, but how long more? If you know he'll reach in 5 minutes, 30 minutes, an hour later - what you decide to do during that period is totally up to you - I'm not sure about you, but I would definitely appreciate that piece of information.
For security reasons? You don't want to risk revealing which floor you stay
This only gives you a false (and lame) sense of security.
Btw, the MOE lift is the one where you indicate your destination floor outside the lift, at the waiting area, and the indicator will tell you which lift number you should wait at... supposed clustering effect optimise resource usage. And btw, the stupidest lift I've experienced is at International Plaza. Try going down from the offices during the evening rush hour - due to its "a.i.", you'll be like a lab rat chasing lights from door to door!
Rant over. But if anyone has clues, please fill me in on this.