A multicar elevator system includes a group of individually drivable elevator cars and two shafts coupled to each other with at least two transfer channels. The system further includes a control unit configured to operate the system in either of two operating modes, wherein in the first mode the group of elevator cars is arranged to travel to a first vertical direction in the first shaft and to another vertical direction in the second shaft through the transfer channels. In the second mode, a first sub-group of elevator cars are parked in one of the shafts and at least one elevator car belonging to a second sub-group of elevator cars is arranged to travel in the both vertical directions in the other shaft upon a call.

A method and a controller are disclosed. The method in includes obtaining, by a controller of an elevator system, a sensor event associated with a location in a building; and changing, by the controller, the state of at least one elevator associated with the location from an idle state to an active state.

An elevator control system includes an elevator group system including one or more elevators and an elevator group controller configured to control operation of the one or more elevators. The system includes at least one of an external elevator management system and an external power provider connected via a data communications link to the elevator group controller. The elevator group controller is configured to transmit to the at least one of the external elevator management system and the external power provider elevator operation information, and the at least one of the external elevator management system and the external power provider is configured to transmit to the elevator group controller elevator operation control information based on the elevator operation information. The elevator group controller is configured to then control operation of the one or more elevators based on the elevator operation control information.

A multicar elevator system includes a group of individually drivable elevator cars and two shafts coupled to each other with at least two transfer channels. The system further includes a control unit configured to operate the system in either of two operating modes, wherein in the first mode the group of elevator cars is arranged to travel to a first vertical direction in the first shaft and to another vertical direction in the second shaft through the transfer channels. In the second mode, a first sub-group of elevator cars are parked in one of the shafts and at least one elevator car belonging to a second sub-group of elevator cars is arranged to travel in the both vertical directions in the other shaft upon a call.

An elevator system is configured to be capable of accepting an internal call made by a user operating an elevator operating panel and an external call made from an external apparatus using a communication network. The elevator system is provided with a processor that assigns a car to be an arranged-car candidate to an internal call or an external call from among one or more cars. The processor is configured to, when an external call is accepted, execute an operation condition judgment process for judging whether each of the one or more cars is in an operating state or in a non-operating state and an external call assignment process for preferentially assigning a car in the non-operating state as the arranged-car candidate over a car in the operating state.