[amluto]

> keep track of the whole thing

Do you really expect a human to usefully monitor the whole thing continuously? If you look at a modern lift, there is quite an array of sensors on each tower.

> no way to stop in an emergency

There's an emergency stop button at both ends. They get used on a regular basis due to emergencies. By far the most common emergency is someone falling in the loading or unloading area. (I think a lot of high capacity lifts actually have multiple emergency stop buttons at each end so that any of several operators can stop the lifts.)