It is true LULAs are marketed for ADA compliance. It's also true some guys think they're not "real" elevators. But for alot of building owners the cost difference is substantial enough to justify the lesser capabilities of a LULA. Not only is the equipment cheaper, but the required shaft and machine room size and electrical service required are smaller too, adding to cost savings.

I've seen alot of the time a building owner is being forced to Install a LULA by the local government even though its completely not needed. Example of an industrial packaging facility where they stand and move boxes on a mezzanine onto conveyors 6 feet tall, why do you need a LULA when the area your being forced to provide ADA compliance will never have a handicapped individual work there? If I was the building owner I'd spend the least amount of money to get them out of my hair.

I've had the joy of working on everything in this industry from installing stairlifts in homes and seeing the elderly excited at how much easier their life will now be, all the way to taking care of multiple hospitals on my route with large banks of fast gearless cars and keeping the hospitals happy with low breakdowns and smooth running equipment. I look at it as it's all a machine that someone is depending on. Lots of people who have never seen me or know me simply depend on me doing my job well so their life isn't interrupted. I think it's an ego issue to look at a hydro or LULA and scoff at it because it's not a "real" elevator. It's a real elevator to someone who rides it.