Ich bin nicht ein gum chewer on the stairs either

Just following orders, that's all;

Effective June 1, the non-stopping lifts became off limits to anyone who hasn’t taken a class in how to use one and been issued a certificate to that effect.

That means visitors to places such as the Schoeneberg town hall aren’t allowed to use them, though, as officials note, they are impossibly tempting, especially to novices. The result has been that public buildings equipped with the elevators either have had to post guards on every floor or turn the elevators off.

And it's much cheaper to just turn off the elevators and make everyone walk up and down.

At least it will eliminate the rash of injuries from riding?

A recent Der Spiegel magazine article noted that Paternosters, on average, have one accident for every 250 years of operation. German insurance reports actually note more people are killed by traditional elevators than by Paternosters (there are, however, a lot more elevators).

Read more here: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2015/06/23/3853455/germany-bidding-farewell-to-its.html#storylink=cpy

 After all no one ever fell down a stairway did they?