Any Bike messengers out there ?

Fozzydog3

Right so I have an interview on the 3rd to be a bike messenger and im just wondering how do you remember all the addresses and street names ? im dreading the thought of me flipping through a map with a dispatcher screaming at me over the radio .

and wish me luck

Morpork

I used to be a messenger. It's a fun job. It's only stressful if you let it be. Make sure your bike is able to handle the stress though. And watch out for stupid drivers.

You can't know all the street names, so a map is essential and you will refer to it everyday. The dispatcher won't scream at you if you're taking long as they don't really care how long it takes. People only care if it's a priority job.
The dispatcher will radio you, give you and address, you write it down, check the map, go there and pick up the package, check the map for the destination address go there, radio back. That's about it really...

If you have a smart phone a maps app will help you out. Put the phone in airplane mode to save battery.

Good luck!

Fozzydog3

Cheers ! anything else I should know ?

paky

how much is the pay? and whats it like when its raining?

coolbeans

I was a courier a good few years back. Practice your puncture repair technique and times. Also try not to take the piss too much with the rules of the road as it'll only breed contempt for all cyclists generally.

mp31

What about a sat nav (with decent battery life and waterproof cover) that you can mount on the handlebars?

Dawn Rider

mp31 wrote: »

What about a sat nav (with decent battery life and waterproof cover) that you can mount on the handlebars?

Don't leave anything on your bike, even if you're just going into a building for a few minutes. So, taking the sat-nav off and on every 10 minutes will be more hassle than anything. Just buy the fold out 'easy' map.

Also, keep your lock key on your wrist with an elastic band. Makes life easier than rooting through house keys etc on your normal key ring.

GTDolanator

an interview?who are you potentially gonna be working for?emm....advice....dont expect decent money for your first few weeks your paid by the job

Darkglasses

Watch out for wet luas tracks. They're guaranteed to bring the bike from beneath you! I used to have a great map, Collins make good laminated ones. Good luck, be friendly on the bike!

Ole Rodrigo

Is there a minimum and maximum earnings ?

Dawn Rider

rocstar wrote: »

Is there a minimum and maximum earnings ?

There's no minimum wage as you're self employed. As in, the courier company subcontracts the work to you. So you will have to sort out your own tax deductions, which is easy. Also, everything bought for the bike is a legitimate expence


The more experienced riders will often get a 'basic' wage for coming in every day. If they miss a day, they lose the basic for that week and only keep what they've earned on deliveries.
Give it a couple of weeks before asking other riders what the basic is. And it changes from Co. to Co.

Some companies will stop a 'radio deposit' from your first weeks pay. You will get this back when you leave. It's to stop you from throwing it in the river if you're having a bad day.

kumate_champ07

you can easily fit a kryptonite lock to your frame, no need to carry it in your back pocket or wear a chain around your waist which is a great way to seriously injure yourself in a fall.

It only takes literally a couple of seconds to fit/remove and lock if you have a U lock mount on your frame

LaFlammeRouge

Might be of interest.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnUo7HM8YMA

paky

tbh as far as pay goes, you can make more money cycling bicycle taxis on grafton street than you would as a bicycle courier. some nights you can take in over 200-300 quid.

Dawn Rider

paky wrote: »

tbh as far as pay goes, you can make more money cycling bicycle taxis on grafton street than you would as a bicycle courier. some nights you can take in over 200-300 quid.

That is a better option than flogging your guts out all week

fat bloke

Oh mother of God. I tried my hand and legs at that craic for a brief interlude one summer. I was hopeless. And there is no logic whatsoever to the street nomenclature in Dublin.

Haddington road, Haddington Place, Haddington Close...
Upper Baggot street is a continuation a bit further up from Lower Baggot street - fair enough, but Upper Mount street is Jaysus parallel to Lower Mount street! And Baggot Close, isn't!
Herbert lane/close/street/place/crescent!!!


AAAAGGGH!

I was fcukin useless. I remember one day, probably the day I quit, that in the entire day I made something like 20 quid, and out of that I had paid 5 for a sandwich for my lunch...

Ole Rodrigo

200/300 per night ?? :eek: There must be a lot of interest...

dubmess

14 years experience here.

MAP, MAP, MAP... so, so important. You may think you know the city, but you don't, guaranteed.

Also, don't be afraid to ask your base controller if you get stuck, you're way more likely to piss them off by going to the wrong place than by asking them where to go.

Have a thick skin; most base controllers are assholes, will frustrate you, and at times seem to have no grasp of logic or the english language. You must learn to keep zen or you won't last the week.

Have a pen and paper handy at all times. These days most companies send you jobs over an xda so it's all there for you to see, but on the off chance you get a company still just using radios make sure you are able to write stuff down as you're talking. A base controller can throw multiple jobs at you in one blast and will get irate if you keep asking him to repeat himself.

Take your time. Riding like a maniac will get you nowhere fast except under the wheels of a bus. It takes a long time to be able to process the work and ride fast without messing up. don't try to be Lance Armstrong, be thorough and make sure each job is done correctly.

Learn to fix a flat in less than 10 minutes. If you can't get back on the road that quickly in any weather you won't be earning money. Tip: bring a spare tube and fix the flat one when you get a break.

Good raingear. You need to be able to survive for up to 10 hours of rain a day. Even the most expensive raingear won;t keep you dry for that long so its important to layer up to stay warm. A good merino base layer would be a start.

Keep at it. Your first paycheck will be rubbish, guaranteed less than minimum wage, this is when most people quit. It takes time to earn money in this game so you need to keep at it. If you can last the first month you should see your wages rise, but don't expect to be earning a lot, the industry has been on the decline for a few years now.

Most importantly, have fun! That's what kept me at it for so long, getting paid to ride my bike every day.

Fozzydog3

cheers dubmess yeah got myself a great map of the city , how many packages would i be likely to carry at the one time ? im kind of worried about route planning

ah im not too worried about the pay ,just want to get off that fcucking dole !

Fozzydog3

oh and should i wear a suit to the interview , it didnt really sound formal he just said drop in on the 3rd

dubmess

No suit required! I'd almost be ready to go as they'll probably offer you the job on the spot Seriously, it probably won't be an 'interview' at all. Basically can you speak good English, do you have a bike... eh, that's about it really

Ask about the rates, I bet they'll be shocked, nobody ever asks what they're actually going to get paid, always baffles me.

Don't worry about route planning, your base controller will have you on a short leash until he's confident you can be left to your own devices. You'll probably start off with just 1 job at a time, hence the measly pay cheque. Once you do kno what you're doing you can join the rest of the couriers in complaining about how their base controller hasn't got a clue what he's doing

Best of luck! If you're ever stuck for a repair on the fly drop in to us in On Track on Cook st. We're ex-couriers so we try get the lads back on the road asap.

fixie

@Fozzydog3 where did you get work??
goin to go around looking for a bit of work on thursday.

Darkglasses

How's the job going?

Fozzydog3

They just took my contact details and sent me on my not so merry way

fixie

i'll let you know if i have any luck, fingers crossed

paky

rocstar wrote: »

200/300 per night ?? :eek: There must be a lot of interest...

im not kidding, i lived with two brazilian guys who used to do it. they rented the carts for 25 euro a night.

check_six

paky wrote: »

im not kidding, i lived with two brazilian guys who used to do it. they rented the carts for 25 euro a night.

One major issue with the bike rickshaws is what happens if there is an accident. You've hired a bike out for the night for €25-€50, but if you have any problem where a passenger gets hurt you're not insured or covered in any way. The bikes are easy enough to cycle around, and are very comfortable to ride in as a passenger, by the way, but I have seen loolahs jumping onto the back of them and tipping the front of the bike up. If the bike tips up, you come off and the passengers fall out.

Other traffic is normally just taxis, who are generally benign, and those horse and carriage guys, who are not so friendly seeing as the bikes are a direct competitor. I saw a couple of incidents back in the day (10+ years ago) that would make you have second thoughts.

Also, you have to be happy handling a wad of cash and have a well tuned in danger radar. You are not going to make any quick getaways on a bike rickshaw!

One final thing, if you do give it a whirl, when you've finished an evening's work be careful hopping back on to your regular bike. A few hours sitting on a tricycle seriously messes up your balance on your regular bike. You'll have to stand up on the pedals to avoid tipping over for the first few hundred metres, otherwise be prepared for an uncontrolled flight into terrain!

I suppose I should include some positives... the passengers always enjoy the trip, and you can make decent cash (pretty big positive there!).

Sean02

Reminds me of my first summer hols. job 1n 1959. 14 y.o. bike messenger boy. Dublin Iimport co. next door to Ormond Hotel. Toys and touristy goods. 2 Adults needed to load basket on front of bike . balance bike while you got on If you had to stop before first delivery which was Kiosk in Zoo you were in serious trouble balancing the huge weight. Rewarded with a orange Maid icepop by the kind lady running the Kiosk was great but the weekly pay of 2.10 was hard earned but kids were tough then.

PersonalJesus

Must have been a nightmare in the snow with no shoes.

Dermot Illogical

Sean02 wrote: »

Reminds me of my first summer hols. job 1n 1959. 14 y.o. bike messenger boy. Dublin Iimport co. next door to Ormond Hotel. Toys and touristy goods. 2 Adults needed to load basket on front of bike . balance bike while you got on If you had to stop before first delivery which was Kiosk in Zoo you were in serious trouble balancing the huge weight. Rewarded with a orange Maid icepop by the kind lady running the Kiosk was great but the weekly pay of 2.10 was hard earned but kids were tough then.

rab!dmonkey

Is it possible to be a part-time bike messenger? I'm studying in town and my timetable has some pretty big gaps in it.

Sean02

Sorry Rab the company folded in the 60's H&s insisted on providing shoes in winter months for us messenger boys. I like the video just like old times!!!

check_six

rab!dmonkey wrote: »

Is it possible to be a part-time bike messenger? I'm studying in town and my timetable has some pretty big gaps in it.

You wouldn't be too popular with the base controller. They'd have to keep track of when you were missing, and they don't like missing couriers. You'd probably upset the other couriers on the road too. It's all about getting a volume of jobs done, and if some fella breezes in to the middle of town at a handy time and scoops up a set of short jobs while you've been on the road since 8.30am going back and forth from Rathmines to the IFSC you're going to have some quite dark thoughts about their continued wellbeing!

Having said that there were a few lads who would just arrive in whenever it suited them and would never do a full 5 day week. They were nominally supposed to be full time, they just seemed to just put in a part time shift. I would NOT recommend doing this in your first week. These fellas had many years experience before they started trying this kind of messing.

The bike rickshaw thing mentioned earlier is probably a better bet. You just show up when you want to give it a whirl and rent out a bike. Go home whenever you like. Just make sure you've made a few quid first!