The ones I saw always had handrails on the sides, you couldn’t get on or off at any point, only at the beginning and end. And here and in Asimov’s case there are multiple next to each other with increasing speeds.

I think it’s the difference between fantasy and practicality. In the real world there are pesky safety concerns you have to grapple with that are just ignored in the imagination. I still want to use Asimov’s version