University officials have defended an alien cycle video series after reportedly describing it as a ‘big hit’ with students despite each being viewed less than 200 times.
The seven-part video series, which shows students how to cycle safely by not following the example of the featured green alien, has been viewed on average 116 times since its upload in September.
One video – which features the green alien at the Market Square YUSU shop – has only clocked up 40 views.
Another – showing the green alien riding without lights at night – has notched up 76 views since its September 19 upload.
The University’s Travel Plan Co-ordinator Fiona Macey defended the videos, describing the alien as “very popular”. She told Road.cc: “We need to raise students’ awareness to cycle safely, their obligations to comply with the law and their responsibility to other road users.
“The videos achieve this in an engaging and fun way. The alien is proving very popular!”
The project, in partnership with the City of York Council, also covers riding on the pavement, locking your bike, stopping the Unibus, paying your Unibus fare and going into town.
It has been part-funded by a four-year i-Travel York initiative from which the council successfully bid for in 2011.
The films are believed to be a ‘sort of’ politer version of New York City’s ‘Don’t Be a Jerk’ cycling campaign.
The project, which was launched in 2011, “humorously” covers riding with the traffic, riding the wrong way on a bicycle lane and how to yield pedestrians when riding your bike in a bid to educate cyclists on safety.
It was started following a Department of Transport 2010 Sustainable Streets Index study which found that commuter cycling in New York City had increased by more than 260 per cent between 2000 and 2010.
To view the full seven-part series, visit: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJM6LRMo0IhVbkdNY7cSO0A?.
Is this really the most important thing York Vision could report?
They have also been playing on the electronic screens at campus bus stops – rather annoyingly, I expect, for people hoping to read the inaccurate live bus timetables, but surely accounting for many more “views” than the YouTube uploads. They *are* very weird and patronising little video clips, though, I’ll give you that.
I’ve not seen the cycle safety ones, but a bus stop video where the character literally jumps out in front a bus did put a sore spot in my mouth.