Elevator guide

Choose transport by the trips it needs to carry, then check queues and actual commute results. A tower usually benefits from both passenger routes and service routes.

Compare elevator systems

Prices below are base values before upgrades. System and car costs are separate.

System	Useful role	Shaft width	System construction	Additional car	System upkeep/day	Upkeep/car/day
Basic Elevator	General passenger access between nearby floors and room clusters	4 tiles	$300,000	$100,000	$3,000	$2,000
Express Elevator	Passenger links between distant clusters with selected stops	6 tiles	$1,000,000	$300,000	$12,000	$4,000
Service Elevator	Service traffic, including workers with carts and bins	4 tiles	$200,000	$100,000	$4,000	$2,000

Car limits and unlocks depend on progression and the map. Stairs and escalators are useful for short connections; Paternoster provides continuous-loop transport with costs that scale with its required cars.

Keep every destination reachable

Conceptual route diagram — this illustrates a transfer pattern, not a tested layout:

Upper local floors ─ local passenger lift ─ upper interchange
                                                 │
                                           express lift
                                                 │
Ground / arrival ─ local passenger lift ─ lower interchange

Docks and Housekeeping ─ service route ─ rooms needing work

If an express car skips floors, provide a local route to those floors. Check the service-floor configuration and ensure transfer floors actually connect the routes. Place service transport near docks, Housekeeping and service-heavy floors so cleaning and deliveries can complete their trips.

Diagnose a slow trip before buying upgrades

Check that the system is operational, supplied with power and serving the needed floors.
Check the number of cars in service and whether the allowed car limit has been reached.
Look for demand concentrated at arrival floors, hotel check-in/out, offices or major attractions. Add cars or a parallel route where the load warrants it.
For long journeys with many stops, consider a deliberately limited express pattern while retaining local access.
Inspect the actual commute result after changes; additional capacity is useful only if riders can complete the route.

Budget example

Illustrative arithmetic: a Basic Elevator system with two billable cars, before upgrades, has daily base upkeep of $3,000 + 2 × $2,000 = $7,000. Construction, electricity and upgrades are separate. Check Basic Elevator for the upgrade formulas and Budget for the tower's cash flow.

Upgrades

Upgrade the system before its cars; each car is limited by the system level. Car upgrades improve speed, acceleration and capacity. Upgrades do not repair missing routes or provide power. Use the individual elevator references for exact prices and maintenance changes.

Balance checked 5 October 2026 against current project snapshot bffae344 and working files (project version 0.1.9); other builds may differ.

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