bike messangers in la
Thread started by
blist26 at 11.16.10 - 10:45 pm
i know this is a stupid question to post .but fuck it ill put it out there.. dont you think l.a should start there on bicycle messanger business.since we glide and ride the streets of l.a non polluting the air and get messages way faster then mail cars ..ahahahaha fuck what you think but want to know your opinions. just pputting it out there.
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sorry to burst your bubble, but first class mail has been monopolized by the government. express mail is up for grabs, that is what will have to do your research on. Be aware that you have competition from fedex,ups,and usps.
mechazawa11.17.10 - 12:13 am
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also, there have been bicycle messenger service in LA for decades...
FuzzBeast11.17.10 - 6:19 am
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the bike messangers service in the bay area is big, i had to pay 10.00 bucks last week to send a package cross town, and it tool 3 days, id give it to a bike service if i could
Two_Feet11.17.10 - 6:50 am
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Nah is cool I aight tripping just wanted to know Anyones opinion on that I know there been bike messengers since uuhhh long time n you'll have competition with other mail services but just saying it will be cool to have a job like that n for that movement to come to los Angeles but is all good anyone opinion counts here hahahahah.
blist2611.17.10 - 7:45 am
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Also so bike messaging can be know more in l.a since you guys have said is been here let it be expand more for those who love n live n shit bike riding get me
blist2611.17.10 - 7:48 am
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This all sounds great, but here's the problem: bike messengers are a dying breed. Almost nobody needs them anymore, and there are enough competent and experienced messengers still hanging on that you're not likely to find an easy way into the market.
During the peak of bike messengers' usefulness, a lot of their business was delivering time-sensitive documents, and now the internet has made that task mostly obsolete. It's hard to keep up when the competition moves at the speed of light, you know?
L.A. is also very spread out. To the extent that anyone needs an on-call rapid delivery service here, it's likely that you're looking at packages delivered across town, in which case a motorcycle or even a car may be a better vehicle for the task (either for speed or weight considerations).
I'd love to see more bike messengers out there, but if you're serious about getting into it, you'd better know that you'll need more than just a love of bike riding to make it work. Good luck.
nathansnider responding to a
comment by blist26
11.17.10 - 9:19 am
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Bike messangers just deliver pot now.
If you want that kind of legal exposure knock yourself out.
Foldie11.17.10 - 9:31 am
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maybe you should forget about sending mail and documents and instead, be a bike food delivery service?
i'm sure you can get a pizza across downtown faster on a bike during rush hour.
and food is always time sensitive.
KiMS111.17.10 - 9:41 am
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The domino's in DTLA uses staff on Bikes to deliver as does some other DTLA businesses. But the "across town" pizza delivery is just not that realistic. Most delivery based restaurant have a defined area they deliver to. Plus there are like 1000 pizza places spread out around LA.
In a dense neighborhood it makes sense.
Foldie responding to a
comment by KiMS1
11.17.10 - 9:57 am
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if you stuck with DTLA which is only 5.3 square miles (fucking TINY) and delivered food, i think u can make it work
but probably have to think of some amazing food idea or something that will attract people since there are so many eateries around there.
KiMS1 responding to a
comment by Foldie
11.17.10 - 10:25 am
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I use a car messenger where I work from time to time. We send different forms of media to big wigs up mulholland dr. at 3am. I don't think you would want to do that on a bicycle.
Mook11.17.10 - 11:19 am
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Motorcycles might be great for messengers in LA because you have to go farther, but motorcycles / scooters can still zip between lanes and get across town faster than a car. Smaller motorcycles are also far cheaper than a car, and not that much more expensive than a higher-end bicycle.
outerspace responding to a
comment by Mook
11.17.10 - 11:40 am
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When I lived in Santa Barbara some cyclists had a really awesome business model set up.
There were lots of restaurants in the area that did take-out, but not delivery. So the cyclists built relationships with the restaurants. The different restaurants would advertise delivery service, then call the cyclist dispatch and a delivery bike would show up to the restaurant to deliver the food.
Seems like a cool idea if you can get restaurants and customers on board with the idea... I know it worked really well in Santa Barbara. People loved it.
Maybe you could use a similar model in an area like DTLA, where there are lots of offices and small restaurants around. You could build relationships with offices and restaurants in the area doing lunch or dinner runs.
outerspace11.17.10 - 11:51 am
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I think Red Riding Hood had a similar business in NY
trickmilla responding to a
comment by outerspace
11.17.10 - 12:03 pm
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This is what a lot of the San Diego polo players do for a living, apparently.
danya responding to a
comment by outerspace
11.17.10 - 2:27 pm
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oh i know there pros and cons in all this but it will be cool if it could of expand and all for all the bike riders that love there bikes but all good opinions count no judge. not saying am looking for a job like that but its possible you know.but yeah .well see what happeneds in the bike community since we have cars hating on us. a lot of bikers getting hit. police trying to harrash any bikers they see ..but especially they do it when no one is around when they have the advantage hate that shit.but ride on guys be safe out there. hahahahahah
blist2611.18.10 - 12:02 am
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