Cycle Courier distance cycled?

GoHardOrGoHome

How far would a typical bike courier cycle in a day. If you're cycling all day with short stops to hop into an office block and back on the bike you'd cover some serious mileage wouldn't you?

Anybody have estimates for this? Also, would Dublin be different to Sydney/New York in terms of distance cycled. I wouldn't have thought so.

Any cycle couriers on this forum?

rottenhat

Probably not as high as you would think - at my peak in DC, I was doing 50-60 deliveries a day but if it came to more than 40 or 50 miles, I'd be surprised. Never had a computer on the bike though. One guy I worked with in SF claimed that his longest day had clocked in at 97 miles but I'm not sure I believe that.

nak

not much at the moment, depends on the city. my husband used to average 300 miles/week in Edinburgh. i know that in some european cities people can ride 10k each way for 1 job. the area covered by bikes in dublin is pretty small.

seamus

You also have to consider distances in terms of time. In reality the maximum average speed a courier could pull through the city is about 25km/h. Over the course of an 8 hour day, that means at most they can clock up 200km, but if you take it that at least half their time is most likely spent in buildings or otherwise off the bike, and their avg speed is most likely closer to 18km/h, then in reality you're talking 80km (50 miles) a day, on a busy day.

In Dublin, people tend to use cyclists for deliveries within the city centre and motorcyclists for deliveries outside of it, so the distance required for each delivery is quite short, meaning that couriers spend most of their time off the bike. If delivery distances were longer (say CC to Templeogue), then couriers would spend more time on the bike.

Ant

Back when I was working as a courier in Dublin (around the turn of the millennium), the average distance that I covered each day was generally between 45 and 50 miles. IIRC 60m was probably the maximum distance cycled for one day’s work.

GoHardOrGoHome

When I was working in Sydney a couple of years ago (on a mountain bike of all monstrosities) I remember thinking I must be doing about 80-100k a day. I thought that was pretty conservative.

We did the CBD and the surrounding suburbs.

With the downturn (and going off topic) I presume there's less courier work going in Dublin these days? Around the turn of the millenium apparently there were new laws introduced in Sydney to really curb the antics of couriers (running red lights, cycling on paths etc.) but when I was working there c. 2006 it had calmed down a lot.

spincess

London's cycle courier circuit is bigger than Dublin's although it would seem the mileage is pretty much the same..also, plenty of hanging around time in both cities!

I used to cover around 250 miles a week in London a number of years back - though usually only 40 miles per day actually 'on circuit' (10m daily commute).

Longest job ever was really a motorbike job going to Spurs but as it was at the end of the day and near my gaff the controller gave it to me and I got paid for going home!

rottenhat

I worked for one (courier-run) company in DC that was very proud of its eco-credentials and avoided using cars whenever possible - runs of six or seven miles each way were routine and on really slow days if you were lucky you might get a run to Herndon (22 miles each way). I think the longest anyone did was to Baltimore, which is a little over 40 miles from downtown DC.

GoHardOrGoHome

Good name Spincess. I'm guessing you're female. Were there many other females on the courier circuit in the UK? In Sydney there was ONE girl. She was pretty hardcore. Tats and half shaved head type thing going on.

There was also one tourist (girl) who lasted a couple of days.

GoHardOrGoHome

rottenhat wrote: »

I worked for one (courier-run) company in DC that was very proud of its eco-credentials and avoided using cars whenever possible - runs of six or seven miles each way were routine and on really slow days if you were lucky you might get a run to Herndon (22 miles each way). I think the longest anyone did was to Baltimore, which is a little over 40 miles from downtown DC.

What was the name of the company? I'd love to know if they're still surviving. They might if they're courier-run as (presumably) they're not as ruthless about making profits. Or am I being naive?

Rottenhat (charming name!) are you still couriering (is that a word?!) or have you sold out and become a desk jockey like me?!

rottenhat

GoHardOrGoHome wrote: »

What was the name of the company? I'd love to know if they're still surviving. They might if they're courier-run as (presumably) they're not as ruthless about making profits. Or am I being naive?

Rottenhat (charming name!) are you still couriering (is that a word?!) or have you sold out and become a desk jockey like me?!

DC Courier - I'm pretty sure they're gone now as the website appears to be entirely devoted to the associated racing team, and I think I heard that the client list had been sold to Real Courier not long before I left the District in 2006. Still some familiar faces on the team though - Bega, Sheba, Corey. I think they might not have been sufficiently ruthless about making profits, and certainly the business model was unusual.

There were about ten women working fulltime as messengers in DC but it was the second biggest messenger population in the US after New York so that still only amounted to 2-3% at most.

I gave up the messenger game when I moved back here - ten years was enough, although there are a lot of days when I wish I still worked outdoors.

spincess

GoHardOrGoHome wrote: »

Good name Spincess. I'm guessing you're female. Were there many other females on the courier circuit in the UK? In Sydney there was ONE girl. She was pretty hardcore. Tats and half shaved head type thing going on.

There was also one tourist (girl) who lasted a couple of days.

Thanks GoHardOrGoHome, good guess! And yes, there was a good number of females on circuit in London, couldn't say exactly how many but probably more than ten. Strange there was only one in Sidney

dubmess

Yup... 50 miles a day would be about right. Summertime less, winter more, so I guess it averages out.
Used to have a speedo on my road bike and was generally between 80 and 100 k's a day.
I'd like a courier to wear a pedometer so we could see how far we walk as well.
And an altimeter for all those design companies hiding on the top of georgian buildings with no lifts...

GoHardOrGoHome

rottenhat wrote: »

I gave up the messenger game when I moved back here - ten years was enough, although there are a lot of days when I wish I still worked outdoors.

That's a shame! 10 years is a fair amount of time alright.

I looked up the DC courier site. Zero on any actual courier work! All about the racing and the courier comps.

paulysoprano

seamus wrote: »

meaning that couriers spend most of their time off the bike.

:P We spend most of or time on the saddle