Bike couriers dwindle as internet delivers
Last Updated: Tuesday, November 24, 2009 | 9:40 PM ET
CBC News
First came the fax machine. Then the internet took another chunk out of the bike courier business, said Eric Moisan. (Simon Gardner/CBC) The number of bike couriers zipping around Ottawa has plummeted in the past two decades, and those hanging on to their two-wheeling careers are blaming technology for the demise of their kind.
"The first thing that affected our business was the fax," said veteran Ottawa courier Eric Moisan Tuesday as he paused for a break outside the World Exchange Plaza in downtown Ottawa, "Then the internet ate up a chunk of our business."
When Gary Watson first started working as a courier 20 years ago, there were around 100 couriers dashing through the city's streets. Now, local couriers estimate there are only around 20.
The nature of the deliveries made by couriers has also changed, he said, without pausing to take off his helmet and drybag backpack.
Deliveries are now largely big packages that can't be sent online, so Gary Watson has invested in a cargo bike. (Simon Gardner/CBC)"There's been a very rapid change from paper to electronic email — stuff like that. So that has reduced the actual small envelopes that couriers will carry and we've moved to larger packages, boxes and stuff like that."
Watson's work bike is no sleek, speedy racer. Instead, he has invested in a cargo bike with a flatbed over the front wheel big enough to carry a stack of extra-large pizzas.
Rishi Mayer has noticed a dramatic disappearance of bike courier jobs even in the past two years, and doesn't think technology is the only factor.
"A lot of companies have been unionized and they've stopped hiring," said Mayer, adding that one local company has cut seven messengers from its fleet of 11 since the summer of 2007.
Despite unionization, Mayer said the money isn't very good — he makes $700 every couple of weeks. He is considering quitting and going back to school.
Meanwhile, Moisan isn't about to give up on his chosen career.
"Because I like the freedom of this job. I'm not doing it for the money. Keeps me fit," he said. "I'm almost 40 and I look like 20 something. I think that's the main reason I'm still smiling."
