LA Metro’s relatively new video and print campaign to promote good conduct on its trains and buses looks more like something my 6-year-old son would watch than those that purport to be adults using transit. Have you seen these? My two favorites:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyjHFYtz5hY#action=share
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uUFf8IomLg#action=share
But see them all here: www.metro.net/manners
Japanese anime superhero Super Kind shows riders how to have manners in various scenarios, while an orange, googly eyed monster named Rude Dude is the bad example. LA Metro’s videos are quite popular with thousands of views, however, are they really working? I’m not sure if I should hope that they are or be saddened that people need to be treated like first graders in order to be courteous to others.
The three themes the agency focuses on are not playing loud music, not buying food from vendors, and letting passengers exit before you board the train. Other topics include not eating on the train, not hogging seat space, and not blocking aisles. The agency collaborated with production studio Lord Danger and director Mike Diva to create the campaign last year. They casted a well-known YouTuber named Anna Akana, who is based in LA, to be Super Kind.
The videos are amusing, professional, brief, and must be meeting the agency’s needs as it continues to grow its video collection. LA Metro’s total annual rail ridership is about 9.2 million, so keeping things running smoothly is imperative. “Each one of our riders have a role in creating a better transit experience for themselves and others by honoring these simple etiquette rules,” said Metro CEO Phillip A. Washington in a news release. “We rely on you, our loyal customers, to help us provide a world-class transportation system for our county.”
The moral of the story for me is if Danny Trejo of “Machete” fame tells me to behave, I think I might just listen.
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