Elevator, car that moves in a vertical shaft to carry passengers or freight between the levels of a multistory building. Most modern elevators are propelled by electric motors, with the aid of a counterweight, through a system of cables and sheaves (pulleys).

Escalators are mechanical devices used for transporting people vertically between different levels of buildings. Typically, they take the form of a moving staircase, consisting of a 'chain' of single piece aluminium or stainless steel steps guided by a system of tracks in a continuous loop.