Living Car Free - Was turned down for a part time job beacaus I have no car!!!

I was trying to get a paper route in my local town here. I was told I would need to bring my D.L and proof of auto insurance. I told them I would be doing this all with my feet and 2 wheels, as I have a trailer that I can use for pick up and then deliver. Well I was told they would call me back after checking with their boss on the technicalities of this and they just never called back. :mad:
I can not believe that even the local paper routes are mandatory to have a car. What happened to the local paper boy, walking his route? Man I am so ticked off right now. The route is the local businesses in our downtown area. all with in a 10 block radius and I NEED a car for that? Are you kidding me???? :eek:
Ok done ranting now.
Stacey

That's total bulls hit. A car for a 10 block paper route!?! Fuc kin' ridiculous. When I was a teenager, I had a paper route over a dispersed rural area, and I biked it.

I hear ya, when I was growing up I did a route that was basically 10 miles out ten miles back and zig zagging all the way. I never owned a car then either. So this really pi$$es me off. My kid can't get a route because he doesn't drive yet? Bad enough they won't let a 33 year old man do it but that pretty much does away with the paperboy of old.
Stacey

seems like if you can meet the demands of the job: deliver X number of papers in X amount of time by X time, then they really can't hold your mode of transportation against you. have you called back to check on the status of your application?

Cycle I ws on the phone with the boss and was told I could start on Monday. Then she explained I would need my D.L. and auto insurance proof. SO I explained it to her how I live and do things, she said ok I will have to check with my boss and get back to you. Now I haven't heard back from her. After she told me she would call me back in 30 mins. That was yesterday afternoon.
Stacey

Perhaps you should follow up with the circulation manager. Explain that you realy want/need the job and ask him/her nicely what aspect of it requires an automobile. As an added bonus tell thim that your method of delivery adds an extra personal touch that people will appreciate!

Did I mention the possibility of advertising on the side of your trailer? :D

I like the way you think Slow Train. I am still to irratated to think straight about who to contact. I will be contacting someone tomorrow though. That I can guarantee.

Years ago, the paperboy job was given to someone under 17 years of age but now it's an adult with a car! Gone are the days when this job required a shopping carriage or a bicycle and a will to work. Instead, you must buy a motor car, take out insurance, and pay for costly gasoline for a job that pays less than minimum wage. I suspect after paying for gasoline, you're probably losing money or your actual wages are close to a dollar an hour!

It's the same stigma that transportation cyclists get everywhere they go. The manager probably thinks you are poor, unreliable and strange for not having a car. He sees you as a person out of the ordinary, irresponsible and not to be trusted for you will steal his papers and walk off with the money. The driver's license means he can track you down and a car means you are somewhat responsible and living indoors. He see homeless men riding cheap department store bikes and puts you in the same category. A derelict.

Years ago, the paperboy job was given to someone under 17 years of age but now it's an adult with a car! Gone are the days when this job required a shopping carriage or a bicycle and a will to work. Instead, you must buy a motor car, take out insurance, and pay for costly gasoline for a job that pays less than minimum wage. I suspect after paying for gasoline, you're probably losing money or your actual wages are close to a dollar an hour!

It's the same stigma that transportation cyclists get everywhere they go. The manager probably thinks you are poor, unreliable and strange for not having a car. He sees you as a person out of the ordinary, irresponsible and not to be trusted for you will steal his papers and walk off with the money. The driver's license means he can track you down and a car means you are somewhat responsible and living indoors. He see homeless men riding cheap department store bikes and puts you in the same category. A derelict.


Sad, but probably true. All of the paper deliver people around here (Knoxville) are adults with cars...and I might add, really crappy delivery people compared to the job I did when I was younger and had a paper route.

Stacey, be sure to follow up with this and keep us all informed...this is really going to get my goat if they discriminate against you based on car ownership!

-Darren

Stacey,
i would suggest that you follow up with the person that you'd interviewed with. if you go over her head and talk to someone else at this point, you may jeopordize the job that you may get after all. sounds like you haven't gotten a definite NO, you just haven't heard back in a day. call her back today, and politely inquire on the status of your application; hold back your frustration for a bit longer until you are sure that you've been turned down because of the car deal.

I am wondering, though (and this is the manager in me talking); will you be able to deliver from the bike in the winter? noticing your home state, i imagine that could be a bit of a challenge.

Was this a "home delivery" route or delivering papers (with returns) to businesses for sale?

Paper routes are bigger and longer than they used to be, generally the 23-40 paper route (just about the max for bicycle) that we remember as kids have grown to 90-150 papers or even more. You just can't do that on a bike, at least not without a trailer. Business routes for small distribution papers can run up over 300 papers, with half that many papers coming back as returns.

The Sunday Atlanta Journal weighs about 2 lbs including inserts. How many of those could you really "throw" on a bike?

Maybe there are still small routes in small towns with small papers that could still be reasonably be done by bike, but I delivered the Sacramento Bee for three years (several years ago)--300 papers, seven days a week--and I had to drive my van across town to a central distribution warehouse, fold the papers, load them, and then drive them to yet another location several miles away to do the actual delivery. On Sunday, the papers often weighed five pounds apiece. In fact, I have permanent shoulder damage from throwing those things.

It was grueling, relentless, heavy physical work, done in the pre-dawn hours, no matter what the weather; there's no way that route could have been done on a bike (the papers filled the back of my big Windstar van with the rear seat removed). Even with a full-time helper (we split the money, which really was pretty good, but gas was still cheaper then) it was hard work. I try to imagine doing it on a bike even with only 50 or a hundred papers; doesn't compute for me.

My mom and I think this whole not hiring someone because they ride a bike thing is bull****, I just applied for a part time job that is 2 miles away and I plan to bike it, I have a second interview coming up on Monday and if I get turned down becauese I ride a bike I'll give them a few words they won't wanna hear.

I can not believe they consider a bike a non reliable form of transportation.. Lets see a car can break down, run out of gas, get a flat tire, and that is a reliable form of trasportation? Total F'in BS

...Paper routes are bigger and longer than they used to be, generally the 23-40 paper route (just about the max for bicycle) that we remember as kids have grown to 90-150 papers or even more...

Not totally accurate everywhere...the paper route that I once had as a teenager years ago in Virginia Beach hovered at around 150 subscribers...that was a pretty typical size for the carriers...all kids on bikes. Sunday mornings weren't much fun, but we got them delivered...

:)

-Darren

It is a downtown route of 60 customers. None of them are return papers. The total amount of papers that I will deliver is around 130. I have a trailer that I would pick them up with, if they don't drop them off at my house for me. As far as winter in concerned, that is no big deal here for me. I do everything else on my bike all winter and if I couldn't because of the snow I would wal it. The downtown area for me is a srtaight shot down my road about 12 blocks.
So as was implied that I just didn't give it enogh time, I will be calling her again today to see what the story is and go from there. I for one as a business owner and a manager have a very hard time when someone calls me and says "I will call you right back" and doesn't call for more than a day. That pisses me off, on top of the fact of reading it as not getting the job and sshe can't call me to tell me so cause its easy to just ignore it.
STacey

I could see how they might be concerned about the papers getting wet. They have to do what is best for their business. I'm surprised it didn't come up earlier.

if you're ever at an interview when driving for the job isn't an issue - never bring it up. most people don't understand a well maintained bike is MORE reliable than a car, (even in bad weather), and most of us know the logistics of dressing, keeping clean, etc. just don't mention it.

i feel bad for folks younger then me (i'm 30), that are starting out and have to deal with one track minded interviewers. i've been working in my field enough i can go to a company and sell myself on experience and knowledge and not convince them i'll show up for work... but for people with less experience the intererviewer is more worried about like a piercing or their transportation methods andnot the big picture like what they'll bring to the company...

if ever asked if you have a car - just say yes. i don't see anything wrong with telling someone the answer they're looking for on a small issue like this, if it means getting on to the more important stuff.

if you can legally rent a car, then you have a car. a cab is also a car.

I'd only tell them you have a car if you are willing to pay for a rental or cab and take 40 cents a mile. Otherwise you are lying, since if you need a car and say you have one they expect to pay mileage.

I have a truck, but I don't hold a license so I couldn't drive it anyways. I don't want to drive, I have a truck for my wife to use for her work.
On another note I tried to call her again today and got voicemail again. SO we will see what it brings I guess.
Stacey

And here I thought paper routes were done these days by kids with their moms driving them in SUVs...

Staceyfb, what they are telling you is ridiculous. I hope you get the job and show them a lesson on how effective a bike delivery can be!

Locally, our newspaper has "guaranteed" a delivery window. All customers will receive their paper between x and x time of the day. Cyclists might be considered too slow to get all the papers out within the window.

All carriers around here are motor vehicle transported. I think part of the argument in this day and age is insurance. While the paper may not actually be liable for accidents involving bicycle riders, they are not protected from lawsuits. The insurance on a vehicle operator probably offers the business some insulation. This is particualrly true in the case where carriers are independent contractors rather than employees.

Lastly, though you didn't specify a time of day, our paper is a morning paper. This makes visibility an issue.

I'm as nostalgic for the good old days as anyone. I do however like advanced payments to the office over the internet. I like it that my carrier doesn't change when school starts. Progress doesn't always seem positive to each of us. I don't miss broken milk bottles outside my door in the winter though. You?

OK, I delivered papers for several years by bike. There has been some misinformation put out on this thread. I delivered on an old raleigh 3speed. it was so old the paint had faded from red to grey. Front and rear wire racks. The route was 2 miles away. The closest customer was a little less than 2 miles the furthest was a about 3 miles away. The dryness wasn't an issue we wrapped the papers just like the car delivery guys do. Sometimes the company issued waxpaper wrappers sometimes plastic. We delivered in thunderstorms. One bike carrier got lifted into the river by a waterspout. If another carrier was sick or couldn't do his route sometimes I'd do two routes- even for a competing paper. Once when it was a sunday I had all my racks full and two of those big canvas bags. I didn't make two trips I just doubled the load. My paper was an evening paper but other bike carriers did the morning paper before school. We didn't drop our routes for school, we dropped them for other jobs or because we hated the boss. In my case I begged for a route in my neighborhood then realized the distant route had better customers- businesses and retirees. The businesses paid their bills and the retirees treated me with respect. The close to home route had young families who wouldn't pay their bills and mean dogs. As far as getting the paper on time it was very routine, every customer got the paper within a set time from when I received them from the company, except on collection day. The morning paper- which I delivered for my brother sometimes came out so early that only the very earliest risers could tell when it came anyway.

Believe it or not, it seems like a dream even to me, but I got in a bike accident not associated with the job and found out the paper gave the bike carriers health insurance to the extent that they offered to pay my medical bills. I didn't have to ask, when the supervisor found out I was hurt, the company offered to pay. This was in the United States. My parents had insurance so the company didn't end up paying anything but still they extended the helping hand before the family had to ask.

With electronic bill paying, relieving the carrier of the chore of chasing down the customers, the job would have been much easier. I could've taken two or three routes. Yes, you can carry 100 Sunday papers on a bike with those huge baskets. You sling two big canvas bags around your chest and rest one on the papers in the front basket and rest the other on the papers stuffed in the rear baskets. Nowadays with these nice bike trailiers it is even more doable.

In my town, the economy went bad when the major employers dumped their workers. It was about that time that car deliverers began to appear. I imagine each car carrier deprived several young teens of the experience of using a bike as a working tool, and of having a job. Since they threw the papers from moving cars they deprived the customers of the quality service I gave. If the customer wanted it in a certain place, I put it there- under the mat, in the window sill, knock on the door, inside the screen door - whatever. The way the car people just sling the papers into the yards how can they even conceive of giving each customer a slightly different experience based on the customer's wishes? With electronic bill paying the customer doesn't even have a chance to request that the paper be placed between the screen and main door. Many customers probably have never met their newspaper person and would never imagine that they could have their paper resting on the doormat instead of hunting for it somewhere in the yard. Look at the exchange here, a low paid person spending a small amount of time saving a highly paid person a little larger amount of time. It is quicker for the bicycle deliverer to put the paper on the mat than for the customer to go hunting it. In the car delivery scenario the corporation in the form of the car delivery saves time at the expense of its customers. And we all accept this last trade off as the right way that things should be because it benefits the corporation. Don't even get me started on the social utility of having many kids develop a work ethic and sense of responsibility at a young age.

Interesting story GWD.

The reason the local newspaper went to an adult was due to the fact that many of these young paperboys were mugged, beaten or killed in the town I used to live. Many times, the paper would not arrive and the boys became unreliable in general.

There's a Russian woman today who does this job but uses a puch cart. I'm glad they gave the job to someone poor who really needed it.

Ok a little more info on the route I am trying for.
It is an afternoon paper that I would pick up at around 1pm. Then I have to have it delivered with-in 3 hours. The majority of this delivery route is the court house and the county jail, which consists of ringing the elevator and dropping off the 50 or so papers in the elevator. And the remaining customers(between 10-20), live with in a 5 block radius of the court house and jail. So the time frame is a mute point. The lady that interviewed me said it takes her about 1.5 to 2 hours to do this route. She told me the exact route and I believe I can do it in about 1.5 hours flat, and that is including the time to pick up the papers.
The wet conditions do not matter as I have a trailer with a canopy on it( it is an older Burley child trailer converted to haul).
The thing that really burns me about the whole thing is my 11 year old son also applied for a route and they will get back to him as soon as on opens in our area, for him they will deliver the papers to our front door and let him do the nieghborhood. But an adult that would do the same thing is an unreliable POS. I get more ticked the more I think about it.
And to top that all off, no return call form her again today. It is now 9:15 PM local time and she on;ly has my cell phone so she didn't call while I was out. I will try again on Monday as she said she isn't in on weekends, and give her till Tuesday. Then I go over her head and try to figure out what exactly is going on.
Stacey

Don't take it too personally, Stacey. One of the things I have learned about people especially in large urban areas, is that cars as so interwoven into the fabric of life that personal choice no longer exists for anyone to question the status quo. I expect to be discriminated against since I am both female and was given a unusually odd first name. The bicycle use as a alternative to car ownership is just another excuse added to the above 2 real reasons.

I learn to be flexible and when to fight and when to step back. Remember that most simple basic jobs (babysitting, lawnmowing, and of course newspaper delivery) that older children and teens once did are now done by hungry, desparate adults that can elbow them out of the way. Since adults are available with cars and other abilities (complete with driver license, strength, insurance purchasing power, and other adult status symbols) these jobs are now contaminated by the same game playing tactics that the working world has been operating under for the last 20-30 years.

Um, it odesn't say tghey frejected you because you have no car. You only say they didn't call you back. That could be for any number of reasons, maybe they just found someone else. Or maybe they just forgot about you.

Well another up-date, called agian today and again voicemail and no call back. So I guess it is off to the circulation manager tomorrow. Man I hate being ignored.

(Please pardon my long post, I'm hoping the example will be helpful :o )

I started delivering newspapers, by car, about three months ago - about a month before I got a bike. I signed on as an independent contractor; the paper is morning delivery, and the carriers pick them up at the office (about 2.5 miles from my house) and bag them either in the parking lot, in their car or at home, whatever suits them. I do mine in the parking lot. We can pick them up as early as 2:30 am (depending on how early they are trucked in from the neighboring city; it's "their" paper, not "ours"), and they must be delivered by 6am Mon-Fri, or 7am Sat-Sun. I deliver a few more papers Thurs-Sun and alot more on Sunday. (Sundays I simply HAVE to do by car; the papers are 3-4 times normal size, and INCREDIBLY heavy - there's no WAY I could do them by bicycle :( ).

My first route, considered a foot route, is about three miles, down one street and up the next for the most part, all porch deliveries. I start out the week delivering about 74 papers and finish on Sunday with about 85. The second, totalling about five miles, is considered a motor route, with more miles (about 7 by car, including the drive home) and more distance between houses, even though there are 15-20 less papers to deliver. The week starts with about 60 papers and ends with about 75.

Since I have started biking, I've gradually been adding goodies to my bike - a Schwinn Traveler 10-speed. I switched out the handlebar for the comfort model, and added new (gel) grips, a rearview mirror, head and tail light, a bell (to be legal, but it's fun too :p ), front basket and rear double basket (saddlebag type), a bike computer, blinkies, a small bag for tools, and items such as a spare tube, patch kit and one can of (basically) fix-a-flat for bikes. I also wear one of those lights that you strap to your forehead - quite the fashion accessory :rolleyes: . With a low-end rack to attach to the trunk lid, I can take the bike just about anywhere I can't get to ON the bike.

As I've gotten more accustomed to riding, and more fit in the bargain, I've begun biking these routes as much as I can; because of the total number of papers, for now, I can't carry them all at once, so I hook up the bike rack, go bag my papers, and park at my first starting point. I bike three miles, only having to get off in a few places for "tube" (newspaper box) deliveries on porches (or picking up bad tosses lol). As I finish, I put the bike back on the rack and drive to my second starting point, about two miles away from the first, delivering a few by car on the way. Including the time needed to load up the baskets and get going, and re-rack the bike at the end, I can do this route in the same amount of time by bike as I can by car. The second route, by bike, takes about five minutes longer than by car, because of those few long stretches, and the need to cross a main road twice (and a not-quite-so-main-but-busy-enough road about five or six times).

When I do these routes by car, which each take about 50-60 minutes, I drive to EACH HOUSE, park, get out, walk a bit, toss the paper, get back in the car, and drive to the next one. There are only about two places on the first route where I can stop and do more than one house at a time (one is three houses, another is nine, in one block). So even though my TOTAL mileage from my house and back to my house is fifteen miles, that fifteen miles takes me two hours of driving. Can you imagine how much gas I was wasting? How much pollution my car was putting out while it sat there idling?

I've gotten to the point where I almost LOATHE doing my routes by car; on my bike, there's no up, down, in, out, idle idle idle, I'm just sailing along from one house to another, sometimes right up to the porch, almost never getting off the bike; I'm getting paid to ride my bike! To exercise! And instead of using two gallons of gas EVERY DAY, when I bike both routes from the starting points, I drive a grand total of seven miles, with no idling whatsoever.

My next goal: I've ordered one of those funky newspaper bags through the office, for a whole twelve dollars; you know, those stylin' front-and-back vest-type bags? :rolleyes: And once I'm in good enough shape, I intend to bike up to the office, arriving by 2:30, bagging my papers and filling that funky vest and all three baskets, and biking the entire route. I may have to build up to that point -- biking it all from my first starting point, then later driving up to get the papers and biking from the office and back to it, to shave off five miles (not counting getting back to the office from where I normally finish); but I'm gonna feel pretty darn proud when I get to that point. I'm also giving up my cashier job of five years as of this Saturday in order to apply as a carrier for another local paper, a freebie that only delivers on Tuesdays, and I intend to request "foot routes" for that one, too, so that I can deliver by bicycle.

The simple fact is, delivering by bike (depending on your route, possibly) can take the same amount of time as delivering by car; and not only do you save ALOT of your earnings that would be lost because of the current outrageous gas hikes, you save alot of wear-and-tear on your car and alot of otherwise-polluted air. It's also MUCH easier to sit on a bike than it is to get in and out of a car 120+ times in two hours!!

I'd say, if you don't hear from this woman, whatever her title is, most deffinitely contact the circulation director him/herself. If the position is as an independent contractor, at least in my case, as long as I have the papers delivered by the specified time, to the specified houses, in the manner they request (porch, tube, side or back door, etc.), per my contract they CANNOT in any way stipulate how I accomplish it, or even the route I choose to take. I don't have health insurance, but for a whole $7 a month I have pretty darn good accident insurance, better on route than off (but I can claim it outside of work as well), so if I ever should have an accident on my bike I have some insurance to help foot the bills!



Because of my own bad preparation this morning (it was cooler and I left my sweater in my car; had to go back for it and wasted too much time), I had to drive 2/3 of my second route this morning, so I'm off now to run a few errands -- to my LBS and the new (biggest in the state!) Salvation Army store -- on my bike ;)

(Please pardon my long post, I'm hoping the example will be helpful :o )

I started delivering newspapers, by car, about three months ago - about a month before I got a bike. I signed on as an independent contractor; the paper is morning delivery, and the carriers pick them up at the office (about 2.5 miles from my house) and bag them either in the parking lot, in their car or at home, whatever suits them. I do mine in the parking lot. We can pick them up as early as 2:30 am (depending on how early they are trucked in from the neighboring city; it's "their" paper, not "ours"), and they must be delivered by 6am Mon-Fri, or 7am Sat-Sun. I deliver a few more papers Thurs-Sun and alot more on Sunday. (Sundays I simply HAVE to do by car; the papers are 3-4 times normal size, and INCREDIBLY heavy - there's no WAY I could do them by bicycle :( ).

My first route, considered a foot route, is about three miles, down one street and up the next for the most part, all porch deliveries. I start out the week delivering about 74 papers and finish on Sunday with about 85. The second, totalling about five miles, is considered a motor route, with more miles (about 7 by car, including the drive home) and more distance between houses, even though there are 15-20 less papers to deliver. The week starts with about 60 papers and ends with about 75.

Since I have started biking, I've gradually been adding goodies to my bike - a Schwinn Traveler 10-speed. I switched out the handlebar for the comfort model, and added new (gel) grips, a rearview mirror, head and tail light, a bell (to be legal, but it's fun too :p ), front basket and rear double basket (saddlebag type), a bike computer, blinkies, a small bag for tools, and items such as a spare tube, patch kit and one can of (basically) fix-a-flat for bikes. I also wear one of those lights that you strap to your forehead - quite the fashion accessory :rolleyes: . With a low-end rack to attach to the trunk lid, I can take the bike just about anywhere I can't get to ON the bike.

As I've gotten more accustomed to riding, and more fit in the bargain, I've begun biking these routes as much as I can; because of the total number of papers, for now, I can't carry them all at once, so I hook up the bike rack, go bag my papers, and park at my first starting point. I bike three miles, only having to get off in a few places for "tube" (newspaper box) deliveries on porches (or picking up bad tosses lol). As I finish, I put the bike back on the rack and drive to my second starting point, about two miles away from the first, delivering a few by car on the way. Including the time needed to load up the baskets and get going, and re-rack the bike at the end, I can do this route in the same amount of time by bike as I can by car. The second route, by bike, takes about five minutes longer than by car, because of those few long stretches, and the need to cross a main road twice (and a not-quite-so-main-but-busy-enough road about five or six times).

When I do these routes by car, which each take about 50-60 minutes, I drive to EACH HOUSE, park, get out, walk a bit, toss the paper, get back in the car, and drive to the next one. There are only about two places on the first route where I can stop and do more than one house at a time (one is three houses, another is nine, in one block). So even though my TOTAL mileage from my house and back to my house is fifteen miles, that fifteen miles takes me two hours of driving. Can you imagine how much gas I was wasting? How much pollution my car was putting out while it sat there idling?

I've gotten to the point where I almost LOATHE doing my routes by car; on my bike, there's no up, down, in, out, idle idle idle, I'm just sailing along from one house to another, sometimes right up to the porch, almost never getting off the bike; I'm getting paid to ride my bike! To exercise! And instead of using two gallons of gas EVERY DAY, when I bike both routes from the starting points, I drive a grand total of seven miles, with no idling whatsoever.

My next goal: I've ordered one of those funky newspaper bags through the office, for a whole twelve dollars; you know, those stylin' front-and-back vest-type bags? :rolleyes: And once I'm in good enough shape, I intend to bike up to the office, arriving by 2:30, bagging my papers and filling that funky vest and all three baskets, and biking the entire route. I may have to build up to that point -- biking it all from my first starting point, then later driving up to get the papers and biking from the office and back to it, to shave off five miles (not counting getting back to the office from where I normally finish); but I'm gonna feel pretty darn proud when I get to that point. I'm also giving up my cashier job of five years as of this Saturday in order to apply as a carrier for another local paper, a freebie that only delivers on Tuesdays, and I intend to request "foot routes" for that one, too, so that I can deliver by bicycle.

The simple fact is, delivering by bike (depending on your route, possibly) can take the same amount of time as delivering by car; and not only do you save ALOT of your earnings that would be lost because of the current outrageous gas hikes, you save alot of wear-and-tear on your car and alot of otherwise-polluted air. It's also MUCH easier to sit on a bike than it is to get in and out of a car 120+ times in two hours!!

I'd say, if you don't hear from this woman, whatever her title is, most deffinitely contact the circulation director him/herself. If the position is as an independent contractor, at least in my case, as long as I have the papers delivered by the specified time, to the specified houses, in the manner they request (porch, tube, side or back door, etc.), per my contract they CANNOT in any way stipulate how I accomplish it, or even the route I choose to take. I don't have health insurance, but for a whole $7 a month I have pretty darn good accident insurance, better on route than off (but I can claim it outside of work as well), so if I ever should have an accident on my bike I have some insurance to help foot the bills!



Because of my own bad preparation this morning (it was cooler and I left my sweater in my car; had to go back for it and wasted too much time), I had to drive 2/3 of my second route this morning, so I'm off now to run a few errands -- to my LBS and the new (biggest in the state!) Salvation Army store -- on my bike ;)

Good post.

It goes to show you this job was really ment for someone with a bicycle. I would like to know what your profit is from riding. I'd like to know (if you don't mind) how much you would have spent on gasoline doing the entire job by car. I suspect, if you take into account the gas plus add an additional 40 cents per mile for depreciation, your take home would be significantly less.

Well, I would say $5 per day in gas. I'm pretty sure that's what I would be averaging at the current price (about $2.70 per gallon). My car normally gets about 20 MPG, but if you factor in all the idling it took two gallons, or close to that, to have it running for two hours. Considering it's a seven-days-a-week job, in one month that's $140.00; instead, at only seven miles per day, with no idling, it would be 90 cents instead of $5, for one third of a gallon of gas. My gross income for the month from the two routes, before gas and other expenses (or depreciation), comes to about $530-$550.

Zee: you deliver TO THE PORCH?! can you come to NC and bring my paper? it is an adventure everymorning looking for my paper. somedays it is in the bushes, other's on the lawn, others on the neigbor's lawn, once in the gutter....

Well I contacted the Circulation Manager today by email and got a response in a mtatter of hours. He has talked to the lady that blew me off and she has admitted it to him that she did and gave the job to someone with a car. He assured me that her direct boss would be in contact with me in the next few days as he was out of the office today. He will be contacting me personally to offer me aroute that would fit in with my vehicular needs. I will believe it when I see it, but at least its a start. She openly admitted that she discriminated against me and she still has a job. that is why I won't keep my hopes up. To bad too, the extra 500 a month would have come in real handy, seeing as how I am unemployed at the moment. But alas I digress, back to pounding the pavement with full force again tomorrow.
Stacey

Good for you for being persistent. Good luck.

Thanks I think I am going to need it.
Stacey

He will be contacting me personally to offer me aroute that would fit in with my vehicular needs. I will believe it when I see it, but at least its a start.

Take a deep breath - they wouldn't have told you this if they didn't intend on honoring their promise. Sounds like someone there feels a little bad about the first person dismissing you out of hand.


She openly admitted that she discriminated against me and she still has a job.

When you get the job be sure to go in with the right attitude. Forget about this person. Remember - nobody there owes you anything. The best revenge you can get would be to compile a perfect delivery record. Circulation managers all keep statistics on missed, late & damaged papers delivered. Be better than anyone else and shatter that voice in the back of their heads that people without cars are somehow unreliable.

I wonder if it's possible that the Circulation Manager got started in that business as an old fashioned paperboy on a bike. The older he is, the more likely that would be the case. If that's true, you might wind up having some interesting conversations with him.

Oh I definately plan on being the best the delivery person they have. I can be the most vindictive ass kisser in the valley.
Hopefully they will get back to me asap.
Thanks again everyone
Stacey

I was thinking about this just yesterday. On my ride home, I got passed by a pickup truck driver throwing newspapers. He was on the wrong side of the road and almost collided with an oncoming car making a right turn. I thought, "Man, that's dangerous driving so distracted by having to throw papers."

I rode with him for a couple of blocks and it looked really hectic. Lots of stopping, turning down a street to throw just one paper, only to u-turn and go back. He was frantic too, shifting and steering as fast as he could. And whenever he stepped on the brake it made this hideous brakes-are-worn-out-metal-on-metal-grinding sound. And it wasn't exactly a beater truck either, I just can't imagine the money you earn exceeds the cost of tearing up your car like that.

I think back fondly of the days when I delivered newspapers on my Raleigh Chopper. The canvas bag draped over the ape hanger handlebars. The calm and quiet of those misty mornings. Those days were the sweetest.

I dont even think kids are allowed on the streets alone anymore. Sad indeed.

Well I haven't heard a darn thing thus far. Thinking I am being blown off big time. Oh well, I am at a loss as what to do from here so I will just chalk it up to another jacka$$ white-collar world joker that has no recollection of how much easier life was.
Stacey

Sorry to hear you haven't heard back from them.

It's probably been posted many times before and you may have seen it, but the Bikes At Work website has a book (http://www.bikesatwork.com/cycling-for-profit/book.php) available about cycling jobs. It may give you some inspiration.

Good luck.

Yeah I actually just heard about this yesterday and am headed to the library today to check it out.
Thanks for the words of encouragement form everyone.
Stacey

Well guys and gals here it is. I have never heard of something so damn ridiculous in my life.

Dear Mr. Bahrke,



Mr. Braunschweig is out of the office for the remainder of the week and I am responding on his behalf. I apologize for our inability to reach you by telephone however my staff has attempted to contact you on numerous occasions to follow up on your original message but was unsuccessful in reaching you.



With respect to contracting you for a delivery route, I regret to inform you we changed our distribution system during the past 2 years and our north Appleton carriers now pick up their delivery products at a regional distribution center located on Nordale near Lynndale Drive. In addition, the delivery area each route services is significantly larger than under our former system and includes the delivery of numerous publications in addition to the Post~Crescent. All of these factors contribute to the requirement that our carriers possess valid driver’s licenses, have a reliable motor vehicle available each delivery day to perform their delivery duties, and carry automobile liability insurance. Unless you meet those requirements we are not in a position to offer you a delivery contract at this time.



Once again, I apologize for our failure to communicate with you in person regarding the status of your route inquiry. I appreciate your interest in seeking a route with us and wish you well in future job opportunities. [B][I]

They have failed to reach me? They have my cell and my home number. Cell which never leaves my hip and the home phone of which has caller ID and voice mail. None of which have any calls from this paper company or anyone else I don't know.
What a crock of you know what.
Stacey

ohhh jeez! sorry to hear that! hope you find something soon. course...with gas prices the way they are, employer's may be happy to find bike commuters!

Yup with gas prices going the way they are, the newspapers aren't going to make the wage difference it would require to make it worht while to deliver the papers. SO I feel a real need for delivery routes coming on. But alas it won't be me
Stacey

Is there another paper in the area that you can apply to for a route? I've left my cashier job after five years (oh thank God) and I'm ready to apply with another local one that only comes out once a week, and they deliver the papers to your house, with about 24 hours to distribute them.

It's a free paper (supported by ads) but because of that they have dense distribution areas (I consider it that, anyway, you only have to keep track of the few houses you DON'T deliver to), which means the houses aren't so far apart. I've also heard good things about the pay. And while a good car with license and insurance is required for the MOTOR routes for yet another local paper, they have foot routes that don't have that requirement.

I'm finally to the point where I park only once, after picking up the papers; bike the first route, then refill the baskets and bike the second route from there. I'm up to 10 miles a day now. I ordered one of those snazzy newspaper bags, the vest kind that holds papers front and back, in the hopes that I can start from the office (adding another two miles or so to my ride); eventually I hope to bike it from home, but that adds at least three more miles (I'm 2 1/2 from the office, but finish closer to home than to the office) and I'm not sure I'm ready for a 15-mile daily ride quite yet.

Unfortunately, I still have to drive the route on Sunday mornings. Normally, while bagging the papers, I fill two plastic totes, one for each route (the second one not quite full); but on Sunday mornings I fill FIVE and still have 10-30 papers left loose. They are incredibly heavy, and at least three times the normal size; there's simply no way I can see delivering those by bicycle.

Ah, well, we do what we can, huh? In the meantime, I'm saving tons on gas (not payed for by the paper - the carriers/independent contractors are responsible for their own fuel). And it's highly possibly that anyone there who might have snickered at the bike attatched to the back of my car in the beginning isn't snickering anymore.

Our only other newspaper in the area is a free once a week deal like you mentioned. They however were just bought out by the one that turned me down and are trying to phase it out completely.
I just feel its rather assinine the way they are handling their city delivery routes.
Stacey

You think with rising gas prices they may change their minds and hire you after all? Maybe it's worth it to go back and check in on that job...

Koffee