Just The Fax: Messengers Face Hard Times
AP: Times Staff
NEW YORK - Once they were urban fixtures, letter-lugging road warriors flashing through traffic on two wheels. Now bicycle messengers are becoming scarce, unable to outrace technology, insurance and the economy.
"There's still a few daredevils out there, but not many," said Bill Goodman, executive director of the Association of Messenger Services.
More than 20 percent of New York City's 305 messenger companies went out of business during the past two years, continuing a decline that began several years ago with the popularity of fax machines, Goodman said.
Although in Seattle the decline has been far less severe, the industry has felt the impact of fax machines and sluggish economic growth. As a result, some smaller companies have been forced out of business, said Tom Stotler, manager of Bucky's Courier System, based in San Francisco, which is the region's largest messenger service.
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You should perhaps read some of the other stories that came up in my search, too:
http://search.nwsource.com/search?fr...chtype=network