NYC messengers?
 

i thinking of leaving my current job.

any NYC messengers in the bunch with some advice? breakaway seems to be a good company?? any input here?

mc

Whar does messengering pay per year? is it a cash income business? are there such things as p/t messengers like on saturdays?

I believe messengers usually make around 40-50% of the fee for each delivery made....something like that..someone correct me if I'm wrong.

i thought the fax machine kind of killed off the bike messenger? i work at a university though, so i wouldn't know about what goes on downtown near the tall buildings.

dan

i dont think documents are the main items being sent, although as far as companies sending and recieving signed documents and things like that might be sent alot. i know its a chunk of the fee but are we talking alot of money?

I"m an architect and use messengers multiple times a day to send drawings, etc... I think the fees are around $5-8 maybe.. so 50% of that... do the math ;)

thats not an estimate though, i am wondering how many do you messenger in a day. if you get say $2.50 or so for your package you would need to do 30-40 of these to be making a minimal salary.

yup..you're right..all depends on the number of deliveries... I guess they probably have good days and bad days...

here's an informative site.. http://www.messengers.org/

Yeah but..

I've done the math myself on it wondering how they survive. But then it dawns on me, they probably live a lot more simple life than I.

i have friends who do it. some weeks they can make $500, other weeks not so much. it all depends on the day and the workload, and who else is working.

to pull $500 in a week is hard. messengering is hard and dangerous work, and you get little respect.

fax machines by no means killed the messenger industry, granted, it's not a big as it used to be, but it's still there.

there's no set salary for it.

one of my friends who does it has a schwinn madison track bike, a harry havnoonian track bike (both with phil wood wheels) a carter track with full campy pista, two merlins, one with full 03 record, and i have no clue what's on the other one, his "winter beater bike," and a couple high-end BMX bikes, which are not cheap, BTW.

he doesn't have a family or anything, but he lives in a pretty decent neighborhood. but he works his ass off.

he also hates his life most of the time beacuse of work. his shoulders are a mess, and he's been hit about 7 times in the last three years...

then again, i know a lot of other people who do it and they love their jobs, and they're pretty much in the same situations as he is.

i've thought about doing it, but i never had the time when i lived in boston, and now that i live in berkeley, i don't know SF well enough that i'd feel confident doing it, and SF is way more dangerous than boston.

...and alot more hilly ;)

true that.

i think i would get sick of bikes if i had to ride one for work all day. not that i hate them, but i am starting to dislike computers since i have to fix them for work too. mainly the pc's since they ALWAYS break. but it seems like being a messenger is a whole subculture and there is a lot more that comes with the job than just the paycheck.

i think you'd be more likely to start hating bikes if you became a bike mechanic, rather than a courier. i mean, you'd be working on bikes all day long...not you're bikes mind you, other people's bikes. other people's messed up walmart specials, or crazy hybrids, or even the really nice racing bikes, but not your own bikes. then you go home and your neighbor says to you: "hey man, you work at a bike shop right? could you fix my bike for me? it's making this squeaking sound when i pedal..." then you want to scream at them. i think being a courier, you're more likely to just start hating humanity as a whole, rather than your bicycle. i mean, your bike is always there for you, no matter what (unless it gets stolen). it'll never let you down, or try to run you over, or throw a big gulp of mountain dew slurpee at you for slightly bumping it in a crosswalk. your bike will be there, day in and day out, it'll be your meal ticket. it's making you stronger, healthier, faster, better. how can you even begin to hate something so beautiful, so contructive?

and now, a computer rant:

PCs don't break if you're not one of those "OMG A NEW EMAIL FROM SOMEONE I DO NOT KNOW!! IT HAS AN ATTACHMENT! I WILL OPEN IT!! OH NOES!! WHAT IS THIS MESSAGE!? WHERE ARE MY FILES?!" type people. or one of the "I HAVE CABLE BROADBAND INTERWEBAOLNET AND I LEAVE MY COMPUTER ON 24/7, BUT I'M NOT RUNNING A VIRUS SCANNER BECAUSE THE PEOPLE TOLD ME I DON'T HAVE TO, AND I'M NOT RUNNING A FIREWALL EITHER BEACUSE I DON'T KNOW ABOUT THOSE THINGS!" people.

jesus christ, it's not that hard!

i always loved the kids who'd be like "oh no!! word ate my term paper!! i didn't do anything wrong it's just...gone!!! i mean, all i was doing was running winamp, AIM, IE, kazaa, irc, bonzi buddy, and a solitare game from this morning on my win98, AMD K-6 300Mhz computer that i haven't rebooted in three months..." (of course, they wouldn't know that last bit about the processor and the speed of the computer).

those are the kids who i wanted to strangle when i lived in the dorms.

now a comparison of bikes and computers:

bikes are simple. there aren't any software security patches to download. no FATAL ERROR!!! blue screens of death. if something goes wrong, most of the time, it's fixable within a matter of minutes.

in closing:

while being a bike courier isn't quite the fast track to success, it will bring you many many things: friends, more than friends, brothers and sisters in arms, good health, stamina, and a new appreciation for your own life, and a new perspective on the modernization of our society, and just how disgusting some aspects of humanity really are.

Dude: One word:

DECAF.

umkay?

sloth, I feel you. Had a complaint today about a "slow" PC. "Slow" meaning it takes 5 whole seconds to boot Word when 10 other apps are open.

mcutt, my friend is a messenger and highly recommends MTS, a small outfit on 111th and 1st. He says: "they offer a totally square deal for GOOD messengers."

PM me if you're interested (too far uptown?) and I can give you names to drop.

As I'm sure you know, a lot of companies will dick you around, not giving you enough work, withholding pay, and firing for no good reason. Even with a good company, it's tough work. Good luck.

the best is the "My monitor will not work " and when i look at it it's not plugges in or powered off.

One tincansloth........wow....I loved your post. I printed it out and am sharing it around the office.

Yeah, no Layer 8s or PEBCACs on a bike...maybe

i don't drink coffee...*fidget fidget* no really i don't....just saying what i feel, you know?

pdx_gay_guy: i don't think i've ever had a post that i made anywhere printed out and shared around the office...i'm flattered? what kind of office do you work in?

try linux. it's much more like a bicycle. :D

hehehe...

i gave redhat8 a spin when it first came out. it was nice, and i still have it installed on another computer. i tried it out because at the time i wanted to get into and audio program called CSound, and another called JMax and i knew i could get free, reliable versions on linux. alas, hardware issues (my sound card didn't work at all for linux) forced me to abandon the project. i have since installed a new card (audigy2) and am procrastinating on the reinstalling redhat so everything will work right from the beginning, rather than trying to find drivers and go through all that

tar_gz or whatever the command was...

also, i like my XPpro box. it's nice and perty! and it does all of the things i need it to do pretty flawlessly.

given the problems i've had with linux, i'd say bikes are more like macs. but, given that macintoshes are privvy to quit working with NO notice, and NO error message, i would say that a bicycle is in no way like a computer. :)

i wish MS would get on the BSD tip like apple did with OSX.

that alone saved me SOOOOO much time over summer. we worked 140 hours or so setting up all the computers for the residents to use in the dorms at berkeley, and it was 5 new windows updates every other day. the macs on the other hand were easy to update while i ate cocoa puffs in the morning in my pj's. i love my mac more and more for many different reasons. one being the fact that it operates on a *nix kernel which is nice since i have to dabble with *nix for work. my ipod also integrates flawlessly on it (pre itunes for windows era) and i use my ipod+timbuk2 bag+fixie more than computer probably. my pc however does still serve a purpose. it plays games that are not realized for macs. to each their own though. if something works, no need to replace it or fix it.

reminds me of dormlife. "you work with computers? can you fix mine." didn't happen a lot and most people were friends, but i really like to separate work and home. still get it from a friend from high school that only sends me emails when she needs computer help and that's it. blah!

heheh....itunes for windows is kind of a joke. i've heard really bad things about it so far, maybe they've fixed it, but...meh.

i actually enjoy windows XPpro. if you have a firewall, and don't use outlook expressdeath, you don't really need the security patches. i haven't had any problems anyway.

i'm a little worried since my subscription for NAV virus update ran out this week. i should...uh...do something about that.

hi, being a bike courier was one of the best experiences of my life...i didn't do it for a very long time, about 6 months (so technically still a rookie) and it wasn't in nyc...but i met a great bunch of people some of whom i'm still friends with. some days it's the worst job in the world...cold, raining, getting cut up or hit by cars, not getting any good work. but on others..it's awesome, cycling for a living, being outside, checking out the cute receptionists and sharing a great cameradie with other messengers.

yes, faxes and emails have had an impact but there are still plenty of messengers all round the world doing their valuable service as we speak.

couriering got me into fixed riding although i didn't ride fixed at work. but ultimately, don't think you'll get rich quick off it...if you want to make a decent living off it, you have to stick at it so that you climb up from being a rookie and start to get "the gravy". even then you have to work frieking hard...but you will become super fit and have some great stories to tell at the bar.

I sort of disagree with the comment about being a mechanic is likely to make you sick of bikes. I have been a bicycle mechanic off and on since 1997. I love it. It is the best job I have ever had. Sure there are parts of it that suck. Working of huffys, cheapskate customers who think you are out to take them for a ride ect. I think any job can get old and make you burnt out but this seems to be different for me. the main thing is I love bikes. not just sexy lugged fixed gears or handmade ti road bikes. I love bicycles flat out. I love riding them I love working them I love what they do for us. I can see a certain amount of beauty in most bikes. even if it is a huffy that is falling apart that should be thrown in the trash. it probably makes someone happy or gets them to work on time. sure tire changes get old and whatnot but for the most part I really enjoy my job and I think it is what you make it. that’s just my opinion though. I know people who hate the bicycle industry and get burnt in less than a year. I would love to be a messenger but I don't think I have the balls to do it.

cutter, i feel the same way about bicycles, and i've been looking for jobs in shops, but no one seems to want to hire me because i have very little shop experience.

this is really getting on my nerves because i have like, 6 bikes that i built myself and maintain.

it just infuriates me that NO ONE will give me a ****ing chance out here.

grrrr.....someone give me a job god dammit.

yeah i know how that can be. we turn people down all the time. i went to barnett bicycle institute when i was in high school so that helped me get a job at a shop right off the bat. BBI is in this town so in a way it sort of sucks because everyone has gone there so mechanics are everywhere. i would try and get your foot in the door doign sale and then prove to them you can wrench.

Hey.

I was a bike courier for a few years here in Toronto. It's no picnic. Especially in the dead of winter. But the money is live-able if you work hard. A few companies will pay a straight salary if they don't have many bikers but a lot of cars. It's called a guarantee. Typically around $400cdn a week. if you get a better guarantee than that, you're a star. If you accept a lower guarantee than that, you're a rookie. Otherwise, you'll typically make 55-60% of your deliveries. The heavier the package, the more you get paid. The bigger the package, the more you get paid. The faster it needs to be at it's destination the more you get paid. This is the most lucrative way. Weight, size, etc, only increase the cost minimally. But if a company needs a delivery done in less than thirty minutes as opposed to in 5 hours..well, it can be ten times as expensive. Oh, and the further it has to go, the more you make. Expext to do 30-40 calls a day. Maybe 80-100klms (with a load on your back) a day unless you get a core downtown job (Called a core *****). But the money's not as good.
A good courier in Toronto can make good money. But take into account that you don't get paid if you don't work. Illness or injury can be very expensive. And given the very nature of the business, you'll find yourself injured or sick at some time or other. It doesn't matter if you're the best rider in the city. **** happens.
Not to mention, that you can pretty much guarantee that when the weather is worst, more couriers will stay home and if you're working, you'll be busy. Yes, you make more money, but at the cost of having to ride in the worst conditions to do so. I've ridden in -25 or -30 not including wind chill factor. Deep snow, ice, freezing rain, high winds, etc. Try staying warm. it's almost impossible. In and out of warm buildings and cold or wet weather, etc.
Despite the crappy side of being a courier, I wouldn't have missed it for the world. It's a very addictive job. No immediate supervision. When the weather is good, the riding is good. And plenty to look at. The comraderie is second to none. Once you make some friends, it's a world unto itself. It was hard to escape from it, but I still look back on some of the best times I ever had as a courier.

hi
lowufo to your post is nothing to add.
i work since 2 years as bike messenger

chris