The invention of the elevator made skyscrapers possible, and transporting passengers remains the most common use for these systems. The required passenger capacity depends on the building's floor area and intended use; typical capacities range from a few hundred kilograms to over 2,000 kilograms. Elevators in buildings with four or fewer floors may be hydraulic. For buildings with ten or fewer floors, speeds are generally around 1.5 meters per second (300 feet per minute), while elevators in taller buildings can reach speeds of 2.5 meters per second (500 feet per minute) or even up to 6 meters per second (1,200 feet per minute).
Most high-rise office buildings are equipped with passenger elevators. To enhance speed, efficiency, and usable floor space, elevators are often organized into banks, with each bank serving a specific set of floors and operating under scheduling strategies that adjust to usage patterns across different times and levels. In some exceptionally tall skyscrapers, passengers take an express elevator-bypassing intermediate floors-from the ground level to a "sky lobby" (an elevated transfer lobby) before transferring to a local elevator to reach their final destination. A select number of high-rise buildings feature state-of-the-art systems that allow passengers to pre-select their destination floor while still in the office or main lobby.
