Bike couriers transport goods in urban areas using a large pouch and communicate with a central courier service via radios or phones. The job is dangerous but highly romanticized, and the community tends to be supportive. Bike messengers are still in demand for hardcopy deliveries, and the culture is often closed and alternative.
A bicycle courier is a courier who transports goods by bicycle, usually within the urban core of a large city. Typically, a central courier service keeps a fleet of bicycle couriers on hand to transport sensitive original documents, objects and various media quickly to and from various locations. The fast pace of the job, combined with the skills required on the streets, makes bike messenger a highly challenging career, but one that has also been heavily romanticized by many people.
At the very least, a bike messenger has a bike and a large pouch designed for quick access and great holding capacity. The courier communicates with the courier service via two-way radios, pagers or cell phones and spends most of the day chasing packages. Typically, the courier service will pay the bike courier for the item, although some will offer hourly compensation. In both cases, the payment is generally low and does not bring benefits such as medical care.
Being a bike messenger is highly dangerous as it involves moving at high speed through very congested areas. Collisions with cars are not uncommon and it is possible to be seriously injured or killed. Generally, when a bike messenger is injured, other riders in the area contribute to a recovery fund, as the community tends to be highly supportive and insular. In some areas, bike messenger unions have created regional funds to help their fellow bike messengers, as have the unions.
Most cities in the world have bicycle messengers, despite the proliferation of digital media. In some cases, an object must be delivered in hardcopy to another location, and a bicycle messenger is faster than a car delivery service. Gifts, checks, equipment, disks or hard drives, and original documents can be transported by bicycle messenger, and some companies choose to use bicycle messengers over other modes of delivery to increase the importance of delivery.
Some outsiders admire the bike message culture, which tends to be very closed. Many bike messengers are also members of the wider alternative community and may join radical organizations or live in collectives. While not always true, some bike messengers prefer to exclusively socialize with other members of their community due to the larger common area. Being a bicycle courier requires excellent cycling skills, speed, an extensive knowledge of the area covered by the courier service and nerves of steel. Individuals interested in a bicycle courier job should contact a local courier service for more information.
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