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bikerjoe
Renault 5 Driver
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Mr Calendar
Joined: 14 Jun 2004
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 Posted: 15:06 - 27 May 2008  Post subject: |
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I'm willing to be proved wrong on this by those older and wiser but...
I thought t'internet virtually made fast courier services redundant. Certainly for the 'traditional' stuff around London/cities like films, portfolios and the like. Only thing I can think of is legal type stuff where a real signature from a real person is needed on a real piece of paper.
The only other type of package delivery I've come across is fast long distance i.e. same day versus guaranteed next day.
With that in mind I think you should pitch your business carefully.
As said, I'm sure there are examples of exceptions, I'm just putting my oar in.
HTH 
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Itchy
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| Posted: 15:07 - 27 May 2008 Post subject: |
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And we have a winner! , first person this year to ask how can I be a courier (sort of).... you win ... the wrath of all the BCF couriers lest there is a big fat consultancy for said courier.
I was wondering what was missing from the forum this time of the year, oh and I don't know squat....
....oddly enough this feels alot like deja vu as a similar question was asked about a year ago...
But Im just rambling.
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Spain 2008France 2007Big one 2009 We all die. The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will. In the end, your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it is worth watching. |
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iooi
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| Posted: 15:29 - 27 May 2008 Post subject: |
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What part of America as its a rather large blot on the landscape.
I should imagine that there are plenty of such co's over there, even thick yanks can't have missed this idea.
As to stuff like ins etc.
You need to be asking stateside as i guess its a totally diffrent ball game over the other side of the pond.
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bikerjoe
Renault 5 Driver
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| Posted: 04:04 - 28 May 2008 Post subject: |
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Well, the "yanks" have missed it, as there are NO motorcycle courier services here. I am in San Diego, California. There may still be one in Los Angeles. I think it is called "Lightning Courier" but I can't get any current phone number.
Down here in San Diego, we have "June's Attorney Service", women mostly, who buzz around in econo-box disposable cars for lawyers, and "Budget Courier" who uses all cars and pickup trucks etc.
There are NO motorcycle courier services in San Diego. Until recently, the cars could still move around somewhat dependably, but now with the massive day-long traffic jams and endless construction sites, along with the huge influx of residents, I think the time is perfect for bikes! Motorcycles (scooters?) can still move around easier and faster than cars, and certainly, the parking issues are minimal compared to auto couriers who endlessly circle courthouses looking for a place to park. The early scooters were low-powered toys, but NOW we have a whole selection of 500cc+ scooters from Honda, Suzuki, Kawasaki, Aprilia, Yamaha and others. These are fantastic vehicles for a courier service!
I've called Budget and some of the others (Marathon Messenger, and others). They seem to be paranoid about using motorcycles for courier work, mostly because it is so difficult to get insurance for a bike being used commercially here. Virtually all personal motorcycle insurance policies in America have an exclusion that voids the policy if the rider is carrying any person or property "for hire."
Bikes are common in the UK, but over here, they are still considered "recreational vehicles" and are not taken seriously by the business world or the general public at large.
I ask now, because so much has changed since *I* was working as a motorcycle courier back in the 80's, with a Honda Goldwing, and a Motorola two-way radio on my hip. we now have the Internet, GPS, Vehicle tracking, text-messaging, and so much more technology and software than we had some 25 years ago.
I am going to continue searching for answers. I really believe that a GOOD courier service that covers the seven southern California counties effectively would really do well now.
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bikerjoe
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D O G
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Itchy
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Syx
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ZRX61
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thx1138
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bikerjoe
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bikerjoe
Renault 5 Driver
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| Posted: 01:16 - 01 Jun 2008 Post subject: |
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| Itchy wrote: | I see two additional problems:
#1 that US cities are much bigger than Uk cities (which is why the US petrol price vs UK price is facile since in the US you have to travel further which negates the petrol price), which means more wear and much more downtime, average mileage is supposed to be 3K a year, shortish range london dispatch riders stick 50K a year easy (al la Tom). |
When I was riding as a courier in Los Angeles back in the 80's, I was riding about 1,500 miles per week. I don't know what that translates into, in Kilometers though. 2500 Kilometers per week or so?
| Quote: | #2 capacity in that although you can carry lots if you take time to work it out you have way less capacity than say a mail truck , adding trailers and paniers reduces filtering ability which negates the advantages of the bike vs 4 wheeler. |
Filtering ability? What is that? I would equip my bikes to tow a 1-wheeled trailer to carry more when necessary. In CommieFornia, bikes can tow a trailer, and even lane share while towing one.
Here is my (formerly my friend Sean's) Honda Reflex and the one-wheeled trailer and two-wheeled trailer I built for it. This hitch allows a one-wheeled trailer OR a two-wheeled trailer to be pulled. it is my own design, released into the public domain for the good of mankind 
The Sean Colgan Hitch
https://www.scooterridermag.com/colgan_hitch.pdf
.
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bikerjoe
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bikerjoe
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| Posted: 01:27 - 01 Jun 2008 Post subject: |
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| thx1138 wrote: | do some casual work as a courier for a fortnight, see it from another point of view, might get some insight... |
First, I really like your alias. THX1138. I wonder how many people know the origin of that?
Secondly, I have worked as a courier for several now defunked courier services. Modern Messenger, AMI Express, Messenger Express and one other one I forgot the name of right now. I am familiar with SOME of the aspects of the business, but so much has changed in 25 years. We now have the Internet, digital pagers, fast Fax machines and so forth ... so I have to imagine that courier work has also changed with the times. With the addition of so much technology and gadgetry, I believe little would be as it was back in the 80's.
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bikerjoe
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| Posted: 01:37 - 01 Jun 2008 Post subject: |
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| Syx wrote: | | Itchy wrote: | average mileage is supposed to be 3K a year |
Is it really that low?  |
Here in America, our insurance companies still subscribe to the notion that a motorcycle is a "pleasure vehicle" or "recreational vehicle". Standard insurance policies presume that a motorcycle owner, even here in the year-round riding state of CommieFornia, ride "3,500 miles annually, pleasure riding." and if you plan to put more miles on your bike, you must tell the agent so he can push you into the "high risk" category. 
When I crashed my 1996 Honda Goldwing, only 10-1/2 months after purchasing it new, the insurance company threatened to not pay my claim. The claims adjuster assumed that I had the standard "3,500 miles annually, pleasure riding" policy coverage. He called me up. "Mr *****, I see that your bike is less than one year old, yet you have over 38,000 miles on your odometer and you were pulling a trailer when you crashed! You were riding WAY out of your policy's calculated risk, so we are not going to pay your claim..."
I asked him for his fax number, and sent a copy of MY policy, with the words clearly added by my agent at the time of the policy's inception:
"Rider intends to ride 60,000 miles annually, pulling trailers when necessary."
I attached a note: "Tell me why I DON'T need an attorney."
I received my settlement check in a few days with no further questions asked.
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southeastpete
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LeeR
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bikerjoe
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Posted: 17:02 - 01 Jun 2008  Post subject: |
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| LeeR wrote: | | bikerjoe wrote: | Filtering ability? What is that? |
Filtering = Lane splitting, and I suppose the question is: If you can't lane split how do you have an advantage over the queuing cars? Perhaps this is one of the reasons motorcycle couriers have never took off in the USA. |
Ah! Well, the laws are different in different states, but here in The Peoples Republic of CommieFornia, "filtering" IS allowed under certain conditions.
We can pass a car in his lane on either side, but our bike must (legally) be contained entirely within the lane. If the body of the bike hangs over the painted line into the next lane on either side, you are "lane splitting" and can receive a ticket from an over-zealous traffic cop.
Generally speaking though, the "splitting" issue is overlooked by cops. They know that bikes can't sit in stalled traffic, and they know that the lanes are too narrow for lane "sharing" as required. They also know that a line of American car drivers are just too damned stupid to all be centered, so each car holds a different position in the lane, from hugging the right lane marker, to the center, to hugging the left marker.
The cops tend to concentrate on those who split lanes dangerously. At too high a speed, or zig-zagging through cars in a wild pitch-and-toss fashion, or snaking through cars (passing a car in one lane on the right, then changing lanes and passing the next car on his right, then changing two lanes over and passing the next car on the left, and so forth.)
Here, you can legally pass a car or lane split at a speed no greater than 15 mph faster than the car you are passing. If he is moving at 10 mph, you'd better not pass him doing 60! This law is intended to give the cage drivers a chance to see you in their rear view mirrors before they make a lane change. A bike that comes up too fast usually bounces off of the driver's or passenger's car door and into the car on the opposite side of his narrow escape route.
As for other advantages, the most notable for me was the ability to park almost anywhere. In the tall Los Angeles office buildings, I'd usually zip down to the loading docks and tuck my bike into some corner behind the poles that prevent trucks from hitting walls and such, out of the way of the delivery trucks. then I'd take the back elevators lined with furniture pads directly to the desired floor, while all of the suits are still standing in the front lobby waiting for an elevator with plush walnut paneling and chrome accents!
In Los Angeles, parking tickets are the norm for couriers. The meter maids get to know the bikes that belong to couriers. I wasn't making money at first, because I spent too much time looking for a parking space. The other couriers told me to park on the front lawn if necessary and deliver the package! It occurred to me that since I was being paid $100.00 to deliver the package, a $12.00 parking ticket would just be considered part of the cost of doing business!
When I began to ignore parking restrictions, my income really climbed. The maids would leave a ticket on my bike with a "Gotcha!" note and a smiley face on it as the signature! At the end of the week, the couriers would line up at the parking enforcement office and pay the parking tickets. I had about 5 to 8 tickets per week. Other couriers had more. It became a game of sorts, for the meter maids whose job it was to generate revenue for the city, and the couriers who would see if they were fast enough to leave before they were cited. It really didn't matter, because $100.00 worth of parking tickets was easy to pay when I made $1,500.00 for the week's work.
Towing a motorcycle is very difficult. Most of the tow trucks in L.A. were not equipped to tow a bike easily, and if I parked on a lawn, or next to a trash bin, or behind a water fountain, I'd be on my bike and GONE (sometimes with a ticket) before they could even get a truck to the location. The maids knew that a courier bike would only be "illegally" parked for a few minutes in most cases.
They didn't make any effort to tow bikes unless they were an OBVIOUS hazard (blocking a fire exit, or preventing traffic flow, or a pedestrian hazard, etc.) I once parked outside of the lobby of an office building. I had a serious deadline to meet, so I just buzzed up the handicapped ramp and parked right there on the marble entrance next to the rotating glass doors. The ticket read, "Don't make this a habit, Joe! - Lashondra" I think she liked me. I had a stuffed orangutan named "Mo" riding on the back of my bike, facing backwards and holding onto the two antennas.
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Itchy
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| Posted: 17:09 - 01 Jun 2008 Post subject: |
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| bikerjoe wrote: |
Ah! Well, the laws are different in different states, but here in The Peoples Republic of CommieFornia, "filtering" IS allowed under certain conditions.
At too high a speed,
zig-zagging through cars
a wild pitch-and-toss fashion,
snaking through cars (passing a car in one lane on the right, then changing lanes and passing the next car on his right, then changing two lanes over and passing the next car on the left, and so forth.)
Here, you can legally pass a car or lane split at a speed no greater than 15 mph faster than the car you are passing.
If he is moving at 10 mph, you'd better not pass him doing 60! This law is intended to give the cage drivers a chance to see you in their rear view mirrors before they make a lane change. A bike that comes up too fast usually bounces off of the driver's or passenger's car door and into the car on the opposite side of his narrow escape route.
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Right ok where do I sign up? (though parking tickets in the UK are £60ish about $130)
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Spain 2008France 2007Big one 2009 We all die. The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will. In the end, your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it is worth watching. |
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LeeR
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MarJay
But it's British!
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Old Thread Alert!
The last post was made 17 years, 205 days ago. Instead of replying here, would creating a new thread be more useful? |
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