An architect races down the stairs with a tube of blueprints that need
to get to City Hall before closing time. The courier checks her watch as the
architect tapes up the lid and hands over the package. She has exactly 15
minutes to ride up to City Hall.
Leaping on her bike, the courier pedals furiously through traffic. She
speeds up the hill. Just before the glass doors are about to shut, the courier
hands the receptionist the package.
Gasping for breath, the courier thanks the receptionist after she signs
for the blueprints, and sighs. Another package delivered and another day done.
Now all the courier needs to do is ride home.
Ruby Rowat is a courier. She says that helping others meet important deadlines
and obtain valuable information is exciting. "You're a part of the pulse
of the city," she says. "It's like being a part of a bigger machine that
makes business tick."
Couriers, whether walking, driving a delivery van or cycling, cover many
miles in a day.
"It's a lot of riding," says Joel Metz. He is a bike courier in San
Francisco. He logs about 50 miles per day. That may sound like too much time
spent on a bicycle seat each day, but Metz enjoys it.
"The idea that you can make a living riding your bike, of course, is always
an appeal," he says. "Many of us couriers have always been bikers or are enthusiastic
about bikes to begin with. Couriering is just a natural extension
of that."
Rowat agrees that couriers have to have a love of cycling. "There's
a lot of bike maintenance that needs to be done, especially over the winter,"
she says. "You have to be into it."
Being a messenger in a city can also be dangerous. Delivery truck drivers
and bike couriers have to wade through traffic and make frequent stops. "You're
in traffic an awful lot," says Metz. "Both drivers and pedestrians aren't
paying attention to you and as a result, accidents are inevitable."
Metz says that he knows a few couriers who have never been in an accident,
but it's foolish to think that it couldn't happen. "Few and far
between are the couriers who haven't been injured on the job," he says.
"It's just common sense to accept that it will happen eventually."
If you walk downtown, you can often see a group of couriers taking a quick
lunch together, or hanging out after work. "It's a real subculture of
the city," says Rowat.
Metz enjoys this social aspect of the job. "It's great to meet and
hang out and work with couriers from around the world. It's really a
community," he says. "I have friends all over the world thanks to this job
and I've been able to work in other cities and countries as a result."
Many couriers also enjoy their work because they aren't stuck behind
a desk at an office. "The freedom of not having a boss looking over your shoulder
all the time, of not being tied down to a desk job is always the first thing
that people mention," says Metz.
Although there is the freedom of being on the move, it isn't all pleasant
work. "The work is undervalued both in terms of pay and social prestige,"
says Rowat.
"It's not all fun and games," warns Metz. "It's wise for people
starting out to realize that it's a difficult and dangerous job."
Some couriers feel the job can be learned quickly. Others believe that
experience makes them better. "Picking up a package at point A and taking
it to point B is very simple, but it's the nuances of it that make a
truly good courier -- that separates a tradesperson from a rookie rider,"
he says.
"A lot of young kids come into this job thinking it's gonna be cool
and fun and they can ride around like crazy with no one to answer to, but
that reflects badly on couriers everywhere. It's a serious job that can
be both thankless and rewarding, fun and exhausting."
Although many people begin as couriers and move onto other work, Metz wouldn't
trade his job for any other. "I love my job and that's a rare thing these
days."