Basic elevator

Basic Elevator

Standard elevator to move people between floors

Construction cost	$300,000
Maintenance cost	$3,000/day + $2,000/car/day (before upgrades)
Power	Varies with car activity
Size	4 tiles × 1 floor
Category	Elevators

Basic Elevator carries passengers between connected floors. Use it for general access to nearby room clusters; see Elevator guide for system comparisons and route planning.

How it works

The system can add cars, upgrade the system and individual cars, set service floors, and assign parking floors. Base system power is supplemented by per-car loading and moving power.

Operating costs

Additional car construction costs $100,000. System and per-car base upkeep are shown in the infobox; electricity and upgrades are separate.

Upgrades

Elevators can be upgraded from the Configuration tab. Upgrades have two stages:

1. Upgrade the elevator system first, up to level 5. Each system upgrade costs 50% of the system construction price. Each level increases the system maintenance multiplier by 25% of its base amount.
2. Upgrade each car separately, up to the system's current level (maximum level 5). Each car upgrade costs 25% of the car construction price.

Every car level increases that car's maximum speed and acceleration by 25% of their base values, and increases capacity by the same percentage (rounded to a whole passenger). At level 5, a fully upgraded car has 225% of its base speed, acceleration and capacity.

Strategy

Use Basic Elevators as the general-purpose passenger spine. Add cars or a parallel shaft when queues and commute results show demand beyond the current capacity. Parking cars near demand centers reduces idle response time. Configure express-like stop patterns only while retaining a local route to skipped floors.

Troubleshooting

Check power, operational state, served floors, transfer connections and available cars before upgrading. Use Elevator guide and Troubleshooting to diagnose failed or slow trips.