Start with the facts: Benefits of messengers Are messengers reckless? When is a license just another label? What is the disguised name for employee? Messenger Appreciation Messenger Memorial The IFBMA
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Bike messengers lose business, not hope
This article says that the number of deliveries for specific companies has declined. It also points out that the number of bike messengers in those same companies is shrinking. This should mean that the number of packages delivered per messenger is about the same. Yet it's not. The reason companies claim to use independent contractors is flexibility of staff. It means if a company has 2000 deliveries per day they may need 50 messengers, if business is cut in half they may only need 25 messengers. In both cases the messengers deliver 40 packages per day. If the number of deliveries per day is declining, something else is going on. Either management is incompetent or deliberate. The media and industry now refers to the late 80's-early 90's as a boom time yet during that time these same type of articles were common. It was also during a recession. They were used to create an environment of insecurity among messengers to prevent them from exercising their rights. One of the sections on messengers in Transportation Alternatives' "Bicycle Blueprint" is called the History of the Messenger Industry Here is an excerpt: Finally, as the
1980s ended, the recession hit, along with the proliferation of fax
machines, making it difficult for the
companies to pass these extra costs on to customers. This led to
a significant shake-out, with many small companies going out of
business or merging. (There is little data available on current numbers
of companies and individual bicycle messengers. [1])
Despite a perception that bike messengers are becoming obsolete, the industry has stabilized somewhat in the early 1990s, but with incomes and profits significantly lower than during the boom times of the 1980s. “Three or four years ago you could make $500 to $700 a week, but most make more like $200 to $400,” says J.P. Lund, a messenger for the past five years. (The going rate for an average run is around $7, of which the messenger receives about half, with higher rates for rush and oversized packages. Messengers also earn bonuses for working in bad weather, and messenger company dispatchers often favor senior riders with more lucrative runs.) NOTES: 1. The Mar/Apr 1991 City Cyclist and the March 19, 1991 New York Times both reported on shrinkage in the bicycle messenger industry resulting from the recession and the spread of telefax communication; the Times cited no statistics and appeared to overstate the extent of the decline. See also: The End of Bike Messengers? Bike messengers lose business, not hope Digital age changes messengers’ role; e-mail and faxes cut carrying load By Alan J. Baker Bike messengers around the city have seen a considerable decrease in business in the last 15 years thanks to substantial digital developments. Chicago Messenger Services, a family owned delivery business establised in 1964, has had to cut more than 30 messenger positions as a result. Riding against traffic, dodging taxicabs, swerving for pedestrians and braving the weather are just a handful of conditions bike messengers face across the United States every day. But perhaps the biggest obstacle in the messaging industry is not the lifestyle, but the decline of business itself. The frenzy of the digital age has slowly been softening the tires for messengers in Chicago within the past 10 years. Chicago Messenger Service is a family owned delivery business that was established in 1964. The company, at 1600 S. Ashland Ave., had more than 80 contracted bicycle messengers in 1991, but now it employs a few more than 50. During the ’90s most of the deliveries were envelopes, documents and files between clients and businesses throughout the city, according to Rick Meyers of Chicago Messenger Service. “That whole demand has decreased because of the digital age,” Meyers said. “E-mail and fax machines have slowly taken that business away.” He said that with the ease of attaching documents to e-mail, hand delivery is no longer necessary. “We have had to take alternative approaches,” Meyers said. “We had to make up what we lost with our biker business with alternative driving deliveries.” Now a considerable amount of business at CMS is vehicle delivery for larger packages that are too big for bikes, because the fees are cheaper and the service is faster than companies such as FedEx. New York Bike Messenger Association’s president, who goes by the name Brean, agrees that technology has delivered a serious blow to the industry. “The electronic age is hitting us hard,” Brean said in a phone interview as he peddled down 8th Avenue to pick up a package. “I am amazed we are still standing as well as we are.” Brean moved from Chicago to Manhattan two years ago and works for Breakaway Bikers, where he averages about 30 deliveries on a good day. “Seven years ago messengers were pushing close to 60 deliveries a day,” Brean said. “It’s gotten to the point now where I’m satisfied with 20 to 30 deliveries a day, and that’s not a good thing.” Riders at Breakaway Bikers have seen an increase in model portfolios and garment deliveries between designers since the decline of paper material. However, architectural and legal documents requiring signatures are still a vital part of the business, Brean said. Messenger numbers declining nationwide Portland, Maine has seen a larger decline in business. In 1992, 20 bicycle messengers worked for five area companies within the downtown area. Today, only three are left at Portland’s only messaging company, said Eli Bayer, owner of Rapid Courier. “The business had to start consolidating,” Bayer said. “The business is still here but there are fewer companies.” Bayer said when he started the business 10 years ago they were making more than 70 deliveries a day. Now Rapid Courier averages about 30 deliveries daily. Most messenger companies hire independent contractors that work on commission to pedal around material. Companies charge their clients a flat rate, starting at $10, depending on the area. Messengers are directed when and where to pick up a package and where to deliver, Meyers said. “Every day is different for our bikers,” Meyers said. “But they can work at their convenience, usually Monday through Friday.” Joel Metz, council member at the San Francisco bureau of the International Federation of Bike Messenger Association, estimates there are about 10,000 messengers working in the United States. pic Messenger services in Chicago have seen business decline, resulting in a drop in full-time employment. “The impact of e-mail and wire transfer has been much the same as that of the fax in the ’80s,” Metz said. “It’s viewed as a huge threat.” Metz said the business remains stable because there is still a host of material that can’t be sent over the wire or as fast as messengers deliver. “Messenger companies will have to explore new markets of business,” Metz said. “Many have begun developing niche markets within the industry, specializing in certain types of deliveries.” Messenger rights and benefits Brean, with the help of friends, formed the NYBMA in 2003, an organization aimed at promoting the employee rights and health benefits of messengers. Its mission is to provide aid to bicyclists and pedestrians who are injured on the job while on city streets in New York. The NYBMA website has information for riders pertaining to messenger rights, upcoming events, bike products and links to local businesses. Brean is also working with the New York Department of Labor to help define the messenger profession in terms of tax deductions and incentives. “We are trying to take a look at the industry and make any improvements that we can,” Brean said. NYBMF is coordinating the 2005 Cycle Messenger World Championships, the world’s largest messenger event, slated for June 30 through July 4, where more than 1,000 riders will participate. The championship consists of competitions in both men and women’s divisions and includes pick-up and drop-off relay races, sprinting, bunny hopping, freestyling and skidding, all while riding a bike of course. Lawrence Parks, organizer of the championship in 1998, said the competition is a good way to bring past and present messengers together. “It’s a place and time for us all to get together,” Parks said. “Considering many have been leaving the business since its decline five years ago.” Parks, who also owns DC Courier, a messaging company in Washington, D.C. agreed that sales have slowed down. “Our biggest problem with sales is that we’re in the nation’s capital,” Parks said. “People here want more of a professional attitude and that doesn’t come from bicycles.” Most messengers are in the business because they have a desire to bike; not because they enjoy delivering packages, so work gives them plenty of opportunity to train for contests. “It takes a certain person to be a messenger,” Brean said. “We are a certain group of hardcore bikers and we work just for fun.” Brean bikes more than 50 miles every day while at work, and another 30 miles each morning and evening after. When asked if he owned a car Brean said, “Hell no, everything is on my bike!” Messenger companies say that although sales are down, there is still enough business to keep them rolling for years to come. “As long as signatures don’t turn digital, than we are somewhat stable for a while,” Parks said. “It’s like any other business, you have to ride the waves of the industry.”
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