desire

i have been stuck in a mundane job i don't like, and i am really itching to leave and try my hand at being a courier.

i know some of you guys on here work as couriers and i was just wondering how i go about finding work?

also how long does it take to get used to working, i.e finding roads, fitting in, what stuff do i need, etc?

sorry for the ton of questions...

Super Rookie

Apply like the rest of us did.

cabana 4 life

im not beating this horse

heebro

I don't know how it is now but when I rode in Baltimore back the early 90's, they were willing to give a bag to just about anyone with a bike that was willing to put themself out in traffic. We didn't have radios. You were an independent contractor, so it was up to you to make as many deliveries as possible to make it worthwhile. The faster you rode and better your performance, the better packages you'd get from dispatch. I was slow and a noob so I got **** all in the way of packages.

It didn't take me long to learn where most of the regular customers were, or to figure out the good routes. Dispatch would help with some of the longer shots.

48x16

go to www.messenger.org
a lot of the better companies are listed on there.
chances are you won't be able to get in with them because they have the best riders.
check the yellow pages and you should easily get a job with a **** company that pays you ****. you have to work your way up the ladder and get in with the crowd and get your name out there.
good luck paying your bills while trying to get noticed.

operator

Working as a courier isn't the romantic ideal that many think it is.

bonelesschicken

You should consider working for one company, instead of a messenger service. A lot of people deliver food for places like potbellys or jimmyjohns and get paid hourly. I work for a visa service, dropping off visa applications at consulates here in Chicago. I like it because I get paid hourly instead of per package but i have never worked as a regular messenger so I have nothing to compare it to.

isotopesope

i would suggest watching quicksilver for the "insider's" scoop.

cphfxt

hm desire im sure you can guess why ca 40% of the messengers in your city is from poland. ive ridden in a fair amount of cities but i must say london and paris are the worst ive seen in europe.
check out lbma.org or com for the huge job bill and co is doing to get safer roads in your city..
and while youre at it blag me a pair of rapha gloves..

if its really nescesary -get a job as a courier. but watch the motorbikemessers theyre mental..

take care

desire

thanks for the information guys, it has been helpful.

SSSasky

This is pretty much how it is now, at least in Montreal. My best friend was offered a courier job before he even had a bike, much less a bag. And he made decent money, up to $70 CDN / day by the end of hiss first week, with lots of days pushing much higher than that.

invisiblah

yyyyeah.

crushkilldstroy

the best part about that movie was when the coit tower somehow magically appeared in new york city.

boycey

In London, try Churchill Express. They'll usually take on new riders. Maybe not the best, but a good starting point and a halfway decent earner as well.

r-dub

Wow! Up to $70 CDN. That's $57.46 US. Almost enough to keep you alive as long as you don't waste money on such trivialties as food and shelter.

Sarcasm aside, there are serious problems in the messenger world right now. Most of us exist as an old solution to old problems (downtown traffic, signature requirements, archaic court filing procedures.)

Problem one: there are new and better solutions for these same old problems (electronic signatures and filings.) There are fewer and fewer jobs for messengers in most major cities unless we change the nature of what it is that we do (focus on other things that are time sensitive and must be physically delivered.)

Problem two: at the same time that the work is in decline, the mystique is growing. There are lots and lots of well-supported (i.e. trust fund) kids with bikes who want to get out and play messenger and are completely unconcerned about how much they make, and thus are willing to undercut other folks who need the job to survive.

I don't mean to turn this into another 'us vs them' thread...I've never really felt like either 'us' or 'them' in the messenger scene...it's just that I cringe a little whenever I think of the floods of new blood coming in to further lower bare-subsistence prices.

soulcialist

i think the movie is supposed to take place in SF

invisiblah

as memory recalls, i think it's set in nyc but filmed in san fran.

danimal

quicksilver is supposed to be set in nyc...i love how he's got a huge loft, a hot girlfriend and exists in a world entirely devoid of foul weather.

can anyone confirm this: apparently the messenger at the beginning of the movie that races the cab was an olympic track star who was 'discovered' as a messenger in nyc?

crushkilldstroy

Wow. I took this way off topic. My apologies to the original poster.

qmsdc15

Nelson Vails Olympic silver medal track sprint and former NYC messenger.

qmsdc15

TJ has seen the film.

PraiseYeJah

where is it possible to buy this movie? my local video shop does not have it

mcatano

I just went and got my girlfriend a drink from the kitchen. Our cat gave me grief when I tried to get back into our room, so does that count as playing messenger?

Haider79

Netflix.com [US]
Zip.ca [canada

deadly downtube

someone always says this when someone inquires about working as a messenger! gee wiz, i thought it was the romantic ideal "many" think it is, good thing you gave me the real scoop.