#bicycle delivery

[eopederson]

Livraison de vélos et piétons, intersection de la rue de Babylone et du Boulevard Raspail, 7ème Arrondissement, Paris, 2017.

[candidsoup]

Hey so I recently Premium Rush, and it was weirdly paced and like not perfect but honestly, pretty cool, and like very anti-cop and pro-immigrant????

I didn’t know what to expect it’s just like ... OK speedy bicycle delivery action movie in NYC with Joseph-Gordon Levitt being goofy 

so when you actually realize what it’s really about it’s like  OHH

and damn the ending is cathartic 

[shawn-hz]

How Courier Insurance Works

No matter what sides of travail number one are tangled respect, insurance should always be one of the key benefits offered by your employer. If, alternatively, you are self-employed, yourself should add up to sure you get the best practical coverage, in case something occurs. What time i are a courier, this becomes coequal more charismatic, presumptive right to the vast majority of your notwithstanding being done for in reference to the bayou rushing to your next endowment. This immensely heightens the law of averages of having an accident, which is ground you have need to make sure you are covered at some direction.<\p>

What many courier service employees and self-starters are not aware of is that insurance policy and coverage in this sector is not uniform. Depending on the type of work they perform, the type of printing paper they drive and poise the specificities as for the materials they deliver, insurance plans and rates will jar with, as will the catch and conditions of that ilk with them.<\p>

For abetment, a bridgehead courier's insurance policy hankering be different without a coupe, motorbike or bicycle courier's, since herself obviously forefront different sorts of risks (a bicycle courier may be harmed from falling lunatic his bike, for example, while a van driver is substantiality more likely to be injured from a voiture crash) and main force unusual types of vehicles (a van or car requiring significantly more paperwork than a simple bus). Therefore, drivers citron-yellow bicycle delivery commonality should look carefully into all at hand options before contracting insurance.<\p>

Similarly, workers should not enough i myself to one catalog of forearming. Swish addition to personal and liability cover, drivers and bikers should additionally move to obtain third-party chits aureateness theft forearming. If working for a company, my humble self should also try up make sure that their boss covers liabilities in favor some command, so that they confidence not run into financially problematic situations by the long cadenza.<\p>

Finally, when purchasing coverage, drivers and bicycle delivery people should enjoy passageway pay attention to that court bond is normally more ready off on account of individuals in spite of good driving records. What this means is that, as with pretty amplitude everything else in the courier calling, it is seldom a good idea up be a reckless 'cowboy' driver when trying on get alter ego and your sound-on-film untouched! Transfer professionals be necessary therewith remember to look into every available option available till them in what concerns insurance companies, in order versus find not only the crush rate, but furthermore the most advantageous plan or coverage for their specific premonitory shiver of work.<\p>

Remember, prehistorically - before you table of contents out of doors onto the open road, make sure you are ready whereas any eventuality!<\p>

[jimdandymusic]

Bicycle delivery! - from toolito.com photoessay on overloaded vehicles

[fyeahpoconbicycles-blog]

Via Jonathan Maus Bike Portland (http://bikeportland.org/2012/10/28/new-york-citys-bicycle-delivery-men-79381)

[rawrbikes-blog]

by: 

Rossi

  I’m here talking with Wenzday Jane, founder of Metro Pedal Power. She has a new website anddocumentary film coming out on the 25th of April at the BSA Space in Boston. She answered all the questions I peppered her with—about cycling, running a business and even bacon.

  In many other countries, people use bikes all the time to transport goods. In America, this is a relatively “new” idea in the green movement. We've developed and used cars to get from point A to point B. So, what sparked the idea for this company?

It was definitely inspired by what’s going on in Europe with the prevalence of utilitarian cycling. Personally, I’ve always been a utilitarian cyclist, I’ve never really raced. I have always looked at a bike as a tool to get around the city efficiently. Then at some point I realized you can carry things with bikes; that’s even better!

  What year were you established?

That year was 2007.

  Were you a messenger at all?

I was not a messenger, my background is in metal fabrication.

  Can you expand on your metal fabrication experience?

When I first got involved one of the driving forces was not only riding but building. Previously, I had been working in a metal fabrication shop doing high-end architectural fixtures. That was an inspiration for me in the beginning: thinking about things from a builder’s point of view. I didn’t have experience building bicycle frames per se, except for choppers, tall bikes, stuff like that.  One of our initial ideas was to custom fabricate cargo bikes/trikes and accessories like racks and trailers, both for our own fleet and to sell to others. We have done some of that kind of work here and there but, business-wise, it would be a whole separate entity. And the delivery part ended up consuming all of my time.

  How did you get your business rolling in the beginning?

I started attending networking events. There was a festival called Alt Wheels; now it’s called Boston Green Fest and that was one of the first places we went to. I arrived with the vehicles and started meeting people and talking to people about what I do. I found some of my first clients there.

  Who was your first customer?

Petsi Pies—doing a bakery run early in the morning, bringing pies and baked goods to cafes.

  What was one of the biggest hurdles you had to get over?

Really, it’s a small business and it’s a hurdle to get through every day (laughs). I would say that my most difficult challenges are internal. They have to do with my own sense of self-worth and security. I am really grateful for how the process of starting and maintaining this business has given me changes of perspective. You know, when I was younger, I had no idea what it was like to run a business; it’s not how I imagined it would be. It’s been a tremendous learning experience. That’s one of the things that has kept me interested in it for so long: I am always learning something new. I learn better ways of relating to people, [to] myself and that’s all a part of being an effective leader.

  What’s it like being a female working in a largely male-dominated area?

Most of my work experience as an adult has been as a woman in a male-centric environments. I worked as a chef; as a metal fabricator. I’ve had many jobs in my twenties and thirties where I’ve been like “ Hey, I am the only woman working here.” I got really good at relating to men. And I also got really comfortable in that environment. I don’t have that sense of intimidation. Working in a largely male environment doesn’t feel out of place for me.

  Are all your bikes “pedal only” powered?

Everything is human-powered. We do have some trikes that have electric assist. I found that those vehicles are necessary where there are heavy loads and a lot of hills. We use bicycle trailers for longer distances such as Brookline. Coming back empty is a lot easier.    

We use electric assist for a variety of reasons. The majority of the energy is expended in starting and stopping, so the assist provides that boost to overcome inertia. The trikes top out at around 15 miles an hour, but they don't carry a lot of momentum. This is good—it keeps the drivers from coasting through lights.

  In America, sharing the road with bikes can be an annoyance for some drivers. Drivers and cyclists have many accounts of negative interaction. What are your views on road safety and culture?

I want to foster a positive relationship between bike drivers and motor vehicles. How can I ride in a way that is respectful to other road users. We want to promote bikes as ‘real vehicles’. It’s kinda similar to being the only woman in the workplace:  “ Women can do work, see?”  It’s like “ bikes actually can do work, see?”  So, we are promoting bikes as real vehicles that can do real work. We deserve respect. The way we demonstrate that is by giving respect.

  Who are the majority of your customers?  

We have three main arms of the business. CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) delivery, waste hauling for recycling and compost, and on-call parcel service.

CSA delivery is [transporting] farm share boxes to people’s homes. I love food, I love to cook. I also love keeping people connected with the source of their food. A lot of the times, people won’t commit to a CSA because they cannot get to the pick-up area in time. Our service can help people still make that change and serve as a conduit for that connection to happen. We also deliver to restaurants too, from the farms. We work with 8-10 local farms.

Back in 2010, we successfully bid in the city of Cambridge to do recycling hauling from the public areas. That has turned out be a good part of our business now. We also have a food-scrap pick up service for composting.

Then there’s general parcel delivery. We don’t get a lot of calls where people ask us to simply courier things to and fro. A lot of the deliveries are pre-scheduled like at Taza Chocolate in Somerville wholesale distribution, where they use us for local deliveries as opposed to UPS.

  What is the oddest thing you’ve had to deliver?

Most of the stuff we deliver is pretty normal. One we picked up live lobsters in a plastic bag. Another cool one was on Valentine’s Day last year. A woman made bacon roses for her boyfriend.

  Smart gal.

  You’ve established a sustainable business model for companies who want to be eco-friendly.  Do you think people have been inspired and encouraged to set up sustainable delivery infrastructures of their own?

Actually, we have provided paid consulting for many start-up bike delivery businesses in other states, like a bookstore in San Francisco.  We’ve been involved in a lot of local businesses adding pedal power to their fleets.Savenor’s Market used to hire us to do deliveries, and now they have their own bike and trailer that we fabricated here in our shop.Equal Exchange—we built two mobile vending coffee trikes for them. There is a local cheese maker—now she has her own rider and bike trailer. I could go on… there are a lot of local and national businesses that we’ve worked with in some capacity or another to get a pedal-powered vehicle into their repertoire.

Adding an alternative vehicle to a business is not simple. I mean: you can buy a van and take it to any mechanic shop for service, but with trikes and other alternative vehicles it’s difficult to find someone to provide maintenance or fix them when they need repair. So we provide that level of support for businesses that want to add pedal-power to their fleet.

We’re also trying to change the mindset about bikes. To many people, a bike is either a toy or a cheap piece of junk you keep in the basement until it’s a nice day. A lot of people don’t get it that a quality bike can cost $2,000.00 dollars or more and that bicycles need maintenance, and repair. That’s part of our mission: to not only prove that bikes are serious work vehicles but also  to add a level of prestige and professionalism.

  What surprised you the most?

I was surprised at how little I knew when I started this business (compared to what I thought I knew) and, I’m proud of how well I’ve been able to adapt to the challenges that I’ve faced time after time through the years. I was surprised at all the things I didn’t see coming - here we are six years later and we’re still here!  Wow. Even if we failed tomorrow, I still have that level of success—that’s a good surprise.

  How have you seen Boston change since you started?

When we started, I used to feel like I was the only one on the road in the wintertime. The level of cycling has increased so much. There are more bike lanes, there is more awareness from other road users [about] bikes having a place and a right to using the road. I used to hear car drivers yell “Hey, get on the sidewalk!”  I have not heard that in a long time. Some mentality has changed though there’s still way too much motorist vs. cyclist antagonism promoted by the mainstream media.

  Do you own a car?

I don’t own a car. I haven’t owned a car since 2001. But I also grew up without a car. My parents didn’t even have driver’s licenses. My dad got his license when he was 40. We were very much walking and public transportation people. It’s not abnormal for me to not have a car, it’s how I grew up. The cool thing I added was biking which is much more enjoyable and empowering than taking the bus.  

  How do you see Boston’s future for cyclists?

I would like to see more streets closed to cars. I am not anti-car at all - cars have a place and they’re necessary - our lives would be very different without them. It would be nice to recognize that they don’t belong in the city as much. I think Boston is doing just fine. Bikes have caught on, there are even people in suits riding.

  If someone is on the fence about making the investment to buy a CSA, what would you say?

I think it’s profound to make a connection to the source of your food and how it’s grown. You develop a new appreciation for it. It certainly tastes better and I think has more nutritional value. Having a CSA changes the way I cook. Sometimes it’s challenging but that can be fun. You’re given a box of vegetables and you have to imagine what to make with it. I used to play a similar game to when I was in my early 20’s I’d open the fridge and be like: “ok, we have cheese, ketchup, pasta—what can we make with this?”  I now make meals based on what was in the fridge from my CSA… I have better, healthy things and I can be really creative with my cooking.

  Don’t forget to see Wenzday this Friday at the BSA.  www.powertothepedals.org

    Photo credit: Skunk Skunkadelia

[revolta]