Couriering

Green Mile

I’ve a full bike license and I tend to be free most weekends. I was thinking of trying out couriering some Saturdays.

Does anyone else do this? I would rather not go down the route of delivering for Dominos as that would take up my entire night but I wouldn’t mind perhaps delivering packages to different counties. Flexibility would be ideal as there might be the odd Saturday were I wont be available.

Can any offer any advise on how I would even begin to do this?

Del2005

Green Mile wrote: »

I’ve a full bike license and I tend to be free most weekends. I was thinking of trying out couriering some Saturdays

Can any offer any advise on how I would even begin to do this?

Don't do it. There's no money to be made in it anymore.

Green Mile

Del2005 wrote: »

Don't do it. There's no money to be made in it anymore.

Can you be more exact, as the concept of the of value money can vary between people
Any idea how much I would get if I had to deliver a package from Dublin to Cork or from Dublin to Kildare (random examples)

Del2005

Green Mile wrote: »

Can you be more exact, as the concept of the of value money can vary between people
Any idea how much I would get if I had to deliver a package from Dublin to Cork or from Dublin to Kildare (random examples)

Your going to have to get courier insurance, which is nearly double private. Not many couriers are making money full time, most that are still in the game are on 125s to save money. No idea what the current rate for long runs is. I've heard some companies are only charging €1 for a mini in Dublin!

You're biggest issue is that there is sod all work Monday to Friday, so Saturday will have little if any work.

Seanie_H

Well by the way some of the scooter drivers for one of the very well known pizza chains hurtle around Dublin 6, I'm surprised they don't lose one per week to prison or to hospital. They're nuts.

Good luck OP if the are opportunities for you. I don't fancy it myself.

nudger

Green Mile wrote: »

Can you be more exact, as the concept of the of value money can vary between people
Any idea how much I would get if I had to deliver a package from Dublin to Cork or from Dublin to Kildare (random examples)

Going back 10+ years but after 20 miles you went onto 0.60 per mile, cork 160 used to work out at €95 then back for nothing.

If it was a return job you got half the rate on the way back.

Dublin to Naas was €10-12 depending on the account.

Used to be feck all work on weekends, the only way the job payed was when you had multiple jobs on board, would often have 10-15 jobs in the box with maybe a 2 hour expectation of delivery, hear it's poor now.

K.Flyer

The arse has fallen out of the business over the last 10 years with only a handful of companies surviving. Rates have been cut to the bone, running costs have gone way up.
Even during the boom when there were hundreds of couriers flying around the city there was little or no Saturday work.
My advise would be to contact your insurance company to find out how much more you would have to pay to be properly covered. Then contact the bigger courier companies to find out if there is any Saturday work.
Then do the maths.

Skill Magill

It'd be unlikely the courier companies would give someone new Sat/Sun work anyway. They'd have to ask the full timers first and that'd be like throwin a meaty bone into a lions den, the way things have gone at the moment.

anto9

I was a motorcycle courier in London for 7 years up to 2000 .They used pay 4 Pound sterling for each local delivery .I was on a guaranteed wage of 450 a week ,for 5 days Mon to Friday .and i mostly averaged 500 .Out of that i had to pay petrol ,insurance and the upkeep of my bike .It was still a fairly good living then if you survived without accident .
Now when i looked recently there were very few M/C Courier jobs advertised in London .i also did it for a few months in Dublin in the early 80s for **** money ,but i heard conditions and pay increased in the 90s in Dublin .
As for the OP there will be little or no Courier work at the weekend ,so your idea is a non starter .

Del2005

anto9 wrote: »

I was a motorcycle courier in London for 7 years up to 2000 .They used pay 4 Pound sterling for each local delivery .I was on a guaranteed wage of 450 a week ,for 5 days Mon to Friday .and i mostly averaged 500 .Out of that i had to pay petrol ,insurance and the upkeep of my bike .It was still a fairly good living then if you survived without accident .
Now when i looked recently there were very few M/C Courier jobs advertised in London .i also did it for a few months in Dublin in the early 80s for **** money ,but i heard conditions and pay increased in the 90s in Dublin .
As for the OP there will be little or no Courier work at the weekend ,so your idea is a non starter .

For most of the noughties Irish couriers where on great money, decent basic and a bonus for breaking the basic which was nearly weekly, but once the crash happened there's no money to be made on a bike.

MonstaMash

Flogging a dead horse...

K.Flyer

Internet, e.mails and PDF killed the bike courier.

anto9

I would be interested in hearing the experience of anyone who did the job long term .
Did you like the job ?What made you get into it ?

Tomohawk

I did the old couriering lark for a few weeks back in summer 2012. The scooter was used for runs around town but when I put the price of petrol, oil, running repairs etc into the equation there wasn't any profit to be made at all. Do it only if you want a break from your normal routine is my advice but dont expect to make any money.

Old style Courier deliveries have been mostly superceeded by electronic means in today's business work. I was working for one of the more established companies too. They ran a fleet of bicycles as well as 125cc and 400cc machines for the more established riders. You supply your own bike!!

Have you considered Van couriering/deliveries if you're stuck for work?

nudger

Done it for a few years back in the 90s to pay the bills, had a night job as well.

Like most jobs when things are going well it's great, busy with good pick up's with no delays but when you have a load of jobs on you and receptions haven't got your job ready and base starts calling where are you the pressure to make up the time on the road makes it dangerous as you are already flying around.

Mad busy in winter time but soaked and freezing.
Very quiet in summer and sweating like a pig.

Worked with 2 main companies, money was good once you put in the hours.

You really had to look after your bike, I always had 2 just in case as I was knocking up around 1000 miles a week.

anto9

As i said i did it mostly in London ( 7 years full time ) .I was driving a Taxi before ,and getting fed up dealing with the general public .
On the bike once i got the hang of the job ( which really took about a year ) i started to enjoy it .I was already a motorcyclist and could do my own repairs .The down side was some days working the whole day in the rain and getting cold and wet right through .The Winter could be down right dangerous with ice on the roads .The pressure from dispatchers when you had several deliveries to do at once could do you head in at times .
When the year 2000 came i decided it was time for a change and came back to Ireland ,and worked a regular job .Since then i have left Ireland again ,and am now too old to be a Courier ,nor would i want to be again .

zubair

You could volunteer instead. No money for it obviously but you'd be out on the bike and doing something valuable with your time

http://bloodbikeeast.ie/wp/volunteer

anto9

^A good cause indeed .In London i often brought sealed up freezer boxes between Hospitals .God knows what was in them .

K.Flyer

anto9 wrote: »

I would be interested in hearing the experience of anyone who did the job long term .
Did you like the job ?What made you get into it ?

Did it for a while in the mid 90s.
Got a pain doing the same job for almost 13 years and needed a change for a while. Always rode a bike and knew a lot of couriers so I felt it was a no brainer to do for 6 mths to a year.
Anyhoo... ended up on a large traily KLR650 Tengaii and earning really good money for what I was doing kept me at it for about 4 years.

rolliepoley

No saturday work for bikes, and if there was it would be sets and already taken or there would have a bike on standby, a run to cork would be 160-180e's, in the good days it would of been more and you would'nt be running with only one job.
The money is gone now for newbies and only us die hards are making ends meat.
Rates- all depends on where your going, in aroud city center 2-3e a drop outskirts and in, could be anywhere from 4-10e, mileage and directs is the money but there is not enough of it to go around like there was in the good days.

In the good days i was making anything from 700e to 1400e a week, now i'm on a basic of 500 but most weeks i break it.

nudger

rolliepoley wrote: »

No saturday work for bikes, and if there was it would be sets and already taken or there would have a bike on standby, a run to cork would be 160-180e's, in the good days it would of been more and you would'nt be running with only one job.
The money is gone now for newbies and only us die hards are making ends meat.
Rates- all depends on where your going, in aroud city center 2-3e a drop outskirts and in, could be anywhere from 4-10e, mileage and directs is the money but there is not enough of it to go around like there was in the good days.

In the good days i was making anything from 700e to 1400e a week, now i'm on a basic of 500 but most weeks i break it.[/QUOTE]

Don't believe you, the money was never that good.

arybvtcw0eolkf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziHimbmo5zs

This might be interesting and bring back a few memories for some lads.

Del2005

nudger wrote: »

rolliepoley wrote: »

No saturday work for bikes, and if there was it would be sets and already taken or there would have a bike on standby, a run to cork would be 160-180e's, in the good days it would of been more and you would'nt be running with only one job.
The money is gone now for newbies and only us die hards are making ends meat.
Rates- all depends on where your going, in aroud city center 2-3e a drop outskirts and in, could be anywhere from 4-10e, mileage and directs is the money but there is not enough of it to go around like there was in the good days.

In the good days i was making anything from 700e to 1400e a week, now i'm on a basic of 500 but most weeks i break it.[/QUOTE
I
Don't believe you, the money was never that good.

For a while when we had loads of other people's money it was that good.

leinsterdude

I am considering buying a fridge van, to start courier business, food, pharma, etc etc....anyone think it's a good idea ?

frozenfrozen

are you going to convert it into a motorbike

leinsterdude

H ha, air cooled :-)
No seriously does anyone think there is a market for chilled delivery, picking up jobs from food companies, wholesalers, etc...

punisher5112

leinsterdude wrote: »

H ha, air cooled :-)
No seriously does anyone think there is a market for chilled delivery, picking up jobs from food companies, wholesalers, etc...

No unless you are lucky to know someone.

Is it a motovanbike heard lots about them.