Lifts: questions and Band 8 answers

Generally, it depends on how high up I need to go. If it's just a couple of floors, I'll happily take the stairs to get some exercise. But when I'm heading up to the eighth floor of my office block, I always wait for the lift.

Almost every weekday, really. My workplace is on an upper floor, and carrying a heavy laptop bag up multiple flights of stairs is exhausting. So, I tend to hop into the lift first thing in the morning and again when leaving for the day.

Yes, actually, just once a couple of years ago. The lift suddenly shuddered and ground to a halt between floors at a department store. It was quite claustrophobic, but luckily the maintenance team got the doors open within about twenty minutes.

To be honest, not really. I find small talk in such a confined space a bit awkward, so I usually just offer a polite smile or nod and then stare at the floor indicators until my level arrives.

Definitely, especially with skyscrapers getting taller all the time. I imagine engineers will design high-speed lifts that feel completely seamless, perhaps with smart technology that groups passengers going to the same floor to cut down on travel time.