London Dispatchers...

3. The pressures on you to rush everywhere will mean you will make mistakes or ride unsafely, which may result in no 1 happening. For example, I have witnessed a courier on a ped turn right in front of my bus forcing driver to slam brakes on. Courier had turned right into a no entry and nearly had a head on with a merc.

Thats a really good point.

Originally Posted by secret squirrel

1. Expect a very serious accident with time off every 6 months - a year at least.

That's the stat I've heard as well. London couriers generally reckon on an off every 6 months.

I've no experience of being a courier/riding in London, but would strongly advise against doing it with as little experience as I assume you have. A mate who uses his bike for 20-30K business miles a year doesn't look at the thing at weekends and barely rides recreationally any more; too much like work.

My best mate worked as a (pushbike) courier in Melbourne and said he reckoned a lot of the accidents, even most of the ones that were "the other driver's fault" could be avoided if the couriers weren't going so quick/under pressure. However, boys being boys (and it is mainly boys) it becomes a bit of a game and people try to beat each other's time's for the regular runs. So, what you effectively have is a road based time trial through the most challenging city roads in the country, with lunatics pulling out in front of you, suicidal pedestrians etc. even assuming that you don't make mistakes, that's a lot to contend with.

Also bear in mind there is a general decline in bike couriering (particularly long distance) with the advent of the internet/email and most people/businesses using van based ones and just accepting it takes a bit longer. This might effect your decision if you're looking at it as a career rather than just for a year or two.

All that said, big respect to bike couriers. Very brave (or mad) people.

I used to know a guy who did his DAS just before me. He went on
to deliver newspapers in his spare time (on a Yamaha cruiser). Mind
you, delivering newspapers in Wiltshire is not as dangerous as being
a courier in London. At the same time, the pay is a fraction of what
a courier in London probably earns.

Never dispatched and spent very little time ridding in london but something that you will become aware of riding a bike (and many people on this site can testify to) is that other drivers sometimes dont see you even when your clearly visible.

Riding under pressure in london means the chance of not being seen increases.

Have delivered pizza in portsmouth and I couldn't belive some of the stuff I nearly got hit by, the scariest was a car driving straight over a crossroads (wasn't their right of way) at 30mph right infront of me. If i had been 10 meters further down the road it would probaly have been terminal. Point takern that this could have happened in a car but i think your chance of survival would have been much higher. When i switched from ped's to the smart car things were much less eventfull.

checked with my mate too. You get to ride in all weather, all road conditions, with all manner of hazzards to negotiate at speed. And your pay? If you're experienced it comes down to £500 p/wk.

About consistent with some ads I have seen which reckon your annual income is around £22k. Though I reckon thats with some experience, less if you don't have that.

Frankly that is not enough for me to put myself into that level of risk for that level of money. Because those figures need to be adjusted for the weeks you don't work through leave or injury.

London Dispatchers are slow riders through traffic (they are always holding me up!!)

Originally Posted by secret squirrel

checked with my mate too. You get to ride in all weather, all road conditions, with all manner of hazzards to negotiate at speed. And your pay? If you're experienced it comes down to £500 p/wk.

About consistent with some ads I have seen which reckon your annual income is around £22k. Though I reckon thats with some experience, less if you don't have that.

Frankly that is not enough for me to put myself into that level of risk for that level of money. Because those figures need to be adjusted for the weeks you don't work through leave or injury.

Are those figures based on "after you've paid for running a bike/leathers/lid" for 30,000 miles a year too? Even something old that you're servicing yourself will need bits replaced, repairing after offs and consumables like tyres, oil changes, etc.

[jambo]

I commute every week day in London and would say that it took me several weeks to adjust to riding in central london rather than the bits of south london I was used to, there is a definate skill to riding at a fair pace, relativly safely in london that takes a while to develop.

Unfortunatly I am handicaped by a god-awful sense of direction so never felt like being a courier would be a good move for me

Dispatched in London and Birmingham for years (only years ago).

It's mental, exhilarating, frustrating, miserable, dangerous and bloody good fun on the right day. The money's there, but you have to be good to earn it.

The only way to get good is to do it. It's a hell of a learning curve, but as it's a steep curve, you get to the top of it quickly.

Originally Posted by Gidders

Dispatched in London and Birmingham for years (only years ago).

It's mental, exhilarating, frustrating, miserable, dangerous and bloody good fun on the right day. The money's there, but you have to be good to earn it.

The only way to get good is to do it. It's a hell of a learning curve, but as it's a steep curve, you get to the top of it quickly.

I worked as a courier for a year, mostly in london and i can only agree as above! I used to commute 700 + miles a week and covered 179,000 miles (on the same bike)in 6 years and used to love riding to and from work.as soon as i became a courier the enjoyment of riding was few and far between.

some days are just absolutely ****ty, miserable and downright hardwork! It will destroy any enthusiasum for riding at weekends. i really wouldnt recommend going from DAS to being a courier. you wont have the experience of riding and youre more than likely will end up a statistic. I had one big off and 1 minor off so the stats of 1 off every 6 months is about right. i still commute between 700 / 1200 miles per week, half of which is into london and every day some **** tries to kill me. see if you can get a couple of weeks holiday and do some courier work in that 2 week period and then decide if its for you./