Tag:highway=elevator

An elevator (or lift) is used to travel vertically, providing passenger and freight access between pathways at different floor levels.

How to map as a node

Add a node to the location of the elevator and tag it with highway=elevator.

How to map as an area

With detailed indoor mapping, some elevators (majority of ones mapped on ways and closed ways) are mapped as an area representing elevator and tagged with highway=elevator.

How to map as a way

 Inclined elevators are mapped as an open way between both endpoints. In this case, the way itself is tagged with highway=elevator.

The endpoints can be tagged with their corresponding level=* and door=* for indoor tagging.

An example how it can be mapped.

See also railway=funicular.

Tags to use in combination

• access=yes/no/private/customers...
• bicycle=yes/no
• capacity:person=* – capacity (persons); please make sure to use capacity:person (singular) as key, because the other extensions of the key capacity are built like this, too. Some mappers do also use just capacity=* fort this.
• contact:website=* – (such as for its current status)
• fee=yes/no – does a fee have to be paid?
• goods=yes/no/designated – a freight elevator? NOTE: For highway=* features, goods=* means legal access restriction for goods vehicles. Consider other tagging (e.g., handcart=*, handtruck=*) if the elevator is for goods carried by person, not by vehicle, to avoid confusion.
• handrail=yes/no – is there a handrail?
• indoor=* – within a building?
• level=* – storey/floor; example: level=-1;0;1;2 – an elevator that goes all the way from the basement to the 2nd floor
• manufacturer=* – manufacturer (such as Otis)
• maxweight=* – maximum weight (in metric tons)
• tactile_writing:braille:lg=yes/no
• operator=*
• ref=* – reference id, given by the manufacturer
• start_date=* – opening/inauguration (year)
• surveillance=indoor/outdoor – camera surveillance?
• opening_hours=*
• wheelchair=yes/no – suitable for wheelchairs?

Funicular vs inclined elevator

The difference between short funicular (tagged as railway=funicular) and inclined elevator (tagged as highway=elevator way) is not always obvious.

• Montmartre Funicular was constructed as a funicular, was rebuild into a double inclined elevator – but still has “funicular” in name and difference is quite subtle. Mapped as a funicular. Cars are no longer counterbalanced, so it is no longer a true funicular.
• Some have a driver inside them There is a single car, so it is not a true funicular.
• Some act and look exactly like a normal elevator (no operator, the same design, elevator arrives at button press etc.)

See also

• OpenTripPlanner elevator tag usage
• elevator on Wikipedia