Calgarian Bike Couriering

Title -
Calgarian Bike Couriering

Purpose -
To provide an introduction to the various aspects of the couriering (bike) trade of the Canadian city, and the nuances that are associated with it.

Note -
Bike courier + Rain = Bad

Attire -
Shirt
Pants,
I find ones with lots of pockets are good, my current choice of pants have 9 pockets, which is great everything has a pocket.
Shoes,
Currently my weapon of choice is crocs, these things are awesome, though probably not overly appropriate as the weather begins to get colder. Summer has been here for a couple of weeks now, so its time for winter to return.

Equipment -
Radio/phone,
We are using motorola phones, that have the walkie/talkie feature, very useful. They also have internet capabilities so we can track our trips.
Bag,
Over the shoulder bag, carries more than you might expect, can hold a large filebox, and some other letters.
Bike,
An essential, never leave home without it, otherwise you'll be doing alot of walking. I have a nice second hand Scott branded bike, with those cool handle thingys, so cool. All couriers must have number plates, yep number plates. My number is 1968 for those who are looking for me when I'm riding around.

Procedures -
Day-to-day operations involve, receiving instruction from the dispatcher, going to a place, and getting a letter/package/box, then going to he place it has to be delivered to, dropping it off, and getting the recipient to sign off on it. There are 5 different times associated with the "package" and when it has to arrive by. The standard is a regular, or "reg" for those in the business. This one we have a bit of time with. The second is a rush, or "rush" for those in the business. This one we can't take all day on, and will usually head to if we have nothing but regs on, though its ok to make a few stops along the way. Next is the Direct, this puppy needs to get there soon, not immediately, but there is no time to stop for a coffee if one of these is onboard. Extreme, they are the ones we like, you get paid the most for them. Basically they need to be there as fast as humanly possible. Last is the overnight, we just pick these up, drop them at the office, and they are sent via DHL to whichever part of the country they are heading. Each of these deliveries has a different price.

Other changes to the pricing structure are distance, size of package, and whether it is the right address or if we have to re-deliver. Distances that a bike will travel are core which is downtown, belt, which is a from 10th ave to 15th ave, and zone one which is after that until about 40th ave. The size of package adds a certain amount to he cost, a couple of dollars for a package, and small box, a medium box is $4, anything bigger, and we probably can't carry it. If we have to do a re-deliver or the address is wrong, its charged twice. The last option is if its a return. Usually associated with bank deposits, as they usually have to have a bank slip returned. These are also charged like two deliveries.

Poding off a trip, is just giving a name for the recipient and putting it into the phone to show it has been delivered. There are also a couple of acronyms we use for certain situations, like SUD, which is slid under door. LORD, is left on reception desk. LICB, is left in courier box. There are others, but they aren't used very often.

Alot of the buildings have been given affectionate names. For example 450 on 1st street SW is known as the bastard, because its a pain in the bott bott to deliver to most of the time, you have to sign in to get a keycard from the loading dock, then go up in the freight elevator, then deliver, then sign off again and return the keycard. Apparently they didn't want any smelly, noisy couriers walking through there main lobby. There is also Petrocan, which is the Petro Canada Building, which is 150 on 6th Ave SW, and 111 on 5th Ave SW. There is also the Squares, 4 different buildings all connected, they are 202 6th Ave SW, 250 6th Ave SW, 205 5th Ave SW, and 255 5th Ave SW. There is also the Mall, which includes a heap of buildings so I won't go into it. Most of the places have mailrooms, and usually they are on different floors to what the envelope is addressed to.

At the end of each day, we need to write up the trips we have done, because we are technically contractors. Normally this is done on a sheet of paper, but I wrote a spreadsheet that does all the costing for me, so I can keep track of my earnings.

And that is all for todays lesson on the art of being a bike courier in calgary.

Narco out