ElJamoquio

Ourz digits is 734 cuz we don't actually ride in da Detroitz.

Ih8lucky13

I was just looking at ROCKDOVES Rates hahahahahahahahahahahaha, I cannot possibly see how they can even make enough money to even pay the messengers minimum wage.
Delivery three dollars in dowtown, or six dollars for rush.
Unless you are pumping out 3 calls an hour (impossible) .

BigBoss

no one cares about pay. even over here some companies pay peanuts but people still take the jobs.

it wasn't about pay it was just about whether or not there were bike messengers over there.

minimum wage is 7.15 in nyc i think most other places its 5.15 not really sure

Ih8lucky13

Here is one of the messengers.


You are right he adds to his pay by collecting bottles and warm bits of cardboard for his house.

BigBoss

you are a real comedian

Scaryspice

I am sorry but is that a picture of what a messenger looks like in Michigan.

BigBoss

some of em in new york too

Scaryspice

Oh I see, Thanks.

bmclaughlin807

Jimmy John's Sandwiches just hired a bicycle delivery person at their downtown branch here in Denver. (Actually... two... one day shift and one evening)

Gromit

Brett,

If you get a job at Jet's on Mack, we'll specifically ask for you. In your area, being on a bike is not much slower than being in a car.

Fat Boy

Hungry Howie's the place to call in Motown, right? I can see the area being a little bike hateful. If you were going to pull it off, you'd need a couple things.

1. A bike with a rear rack that you could put the insulated box on securely.
2. Some way to lock the thing up when you were delivering to a dorm/apartment complex.
3. A densely populated area that you wouldn't get shot in.
4. Fenders, so you don't show up looking like a BMX racer.

All the holier-than-thou are on a 'stop global warming' kick. Sell your idea to your perspective manager as that. Put a 'zero pollution delivery option' in their ads and charge an extra $2 per bike delivery. If you're in the 'hippie' section of town you'll get a bunch of people that will gladly pay the extra money to be 'earth friendly'. Keep in mind, these people don't actually give a domn one way or another, but the **appearance** of giving a domn is well worth $2.

The problem that you'll run into is co-workers. You'll have to stay in about a 1 mile radius to make any money. They'll have to take the longer routes in cars which take longer. That means fewer deliveries per night for them. You'll be taking money out of their pocket.

The upside is that inside of a 1 or 2 mile radius you'll be able to deliver just as fast as a car and you'll get a great workout while making money. December through March will suck, though.

This is an idea you can run with if you're serious, though.

ElJamoquio

That would be Ann Arbor.

merlinextraligh

^^ I've seen it several places. It has to be the right population density/traffic/ parking situation to make a bike the delivery vehicle of choice. But in the right setting a bike can be the best means.

Unfortunately, suburban Detroit may not be the best suited for bike pizza delivery.

anonyben

Goodness gracious! I found this thread in our website's referrer logs.

Three calls an hour is quite possible. Please note that the $3 rate is for same-day service, which means a delivery with a 5:30 PM deadline.

In contrast to the same-day service, our company, like most other messenger services, offers expedited options, ranging from 2-hour to 15 minute service. A 15-minute deadline delivery is $18.50, for a small package. We prorate based on package size and wait time, so rush deliveries easily jump into the 40-50 dollar range at the end of the day.

I've been a courier in Detroit for 4 years, and have run my own business for just over 1 year. It's been tough, but very rewarding. Part of why it's been rewarding is that there is no competition... maybe because of people whose attitudes align with Ih8lucky's!

Although Rock Dove isn't hiring, I strongly encourage anyone who like cycling to become a part of the growing business climate in downtown. There is lots of development going on, and a lot of opportunity for bicycle-based business.

Toodles,
Ben
Rock Dove Couriers LLC

StephenH

Worksman (and maybe some others) sell pizza delivery bikes- what they call a "low gravity" bike with big insulated pizza box on front.

One of the big no-no's in the food industry is to set anything on the ground- so people might frown at putting a pizza on one of those low bike trailers as well. A special-built rack on back, or box as on the pizza bikes would be better, I believe.

Realistically, I think this would work better if the whole company was geared to deliver by bicycle.

One problem is you can't just lock your car and dash off across the parking lot- bike's liable to be gone when you get back.

It would also depend on the neighborhood, how compact their delivery area is, how passable ALL the roads are on bikes, etc.

anonyben

To respond to the topic at hand:

A member of our company attempted to start up pizza delivery in the Wayne State University area, but has since abandoned it, mostly because of other obligations. It is a definite possibility in the WSU area: there is dense daytime population, somewhat dense nighttime population, a growing on-campus student population, and bike-able roads.

The big obstacle is advertising and promotion: whoever might take on this venture would have to dedicate their first few months of business to door-to-door flyering, putting up posters on phonepoles, and other street-level marketing. It'd be wise to enter in to contracts with a few different pizza places, set up a $20 minimum order, and a set gratuity.

I'd recommend having a bike with a front rack big enough to support pizza boxes (check out CETMA racks, at cetmaracks.com ) and then a larger trailer that would stay locked up in a central location, to get for orders of more than 8 or 10 pies. Bikes at Work trailers are great.

It will end up being a start up cost of around $800 for the rack, trailer, and pizza bags, plus the cost of a biz. line/cellphone, and maybe paying people to be your street team for marketing. And also there's the cost of being flat broke for a few months. Sound fun?

fmf2k5

i don't have any special cargo bike or anything.
just my single speed. and a rack i built with a bread crate.
i have been delivering pizzas in chicago for about a year and a half with it.
works great! reallll simple to make to...

here is a picture...
https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v254/fmf2k5/a-1.jpg


-frank

TrueBeliever

I work at a local pizza place some nights.
Sometimes the drivers would get backed up with deliveries, I would deliver on my bike.
It's not too hard one-handing a pizza bag and not crashing.
I usually make out well with tips too, most people think its cool and give a little extra

celticfrost

Just be forewarned that it's a dog-eat-dog world in the pizza delivery industry.

Once you hit the streets, you better hit them running/pedaling. And watch out for the competition -- they will hunt you down in their delivery mobiles of death and won't hesitate to make you and your pizzas a splattered, twisted and tangled mess of blood, skin, cheese and pepperoni.

tadawdy

sandwich delivery guy. Potbelly, Jimmy John's and others will hire you to deliver by bike. It works great in delivery areas where a lot of the deliveries are to one location (like near a college campus). I deliver for Potbelly, and I like it quite a bit. Beats standing around the shop all day.

one thing to consider is weather. The roads get pretty hairy around here in about mid-November, and the bike delivery season is effectively done until Spring. Not that you couldn't do it. They just won't let you because you can't do it fast enough.

kindablue

+1 In St. Louis all the Jimmy John's use bikes for deliveries; its just faster and cheaper for the joint.

Bezohh

Same here.

There are actually a couple of different pizza places around here that use bikes to deliver pizzas. One is a local-only shop. The other is a Domino's. Both of em were using old mountain bikes outfitted with normal bike racks over the rear tires.

fmf2k5

Meh, it can be done fast enough though.
im a firm believer in i can do anything with my bike.
i usually make more money delivering pizzas in my area then the rest of the car drivers do anyways.
because of the traffic and that people think its nifty.
it does get a little 'hairy' come mid november/decemberish in chicago... i give you that.
but i try to do it up until it starts to snow heavily on and off. and do it some days in the winter days when it doesnt snow...when they need delivery help.

brian416

2 year old thread that go bumped, but...

Delivering by bike really depends on where you live. When I was a delivery driver, on average, I would drive 80-100 miles per night shift (5-11pm).

Retro Grouch 

"Still hot" is a biggie. I live 2 1/2 miles from the local Dominoes and I think they're marginal at best on "hot".