Edmonton Examiner, October 15th 2003-
Biker Bill has become as much a part of Edmonton's urban landscape as the skyscrapers and traffic clogged streets.
A veteran bike messenger since 1982, Bill works in some of the most dangerous conditions possible, daily maneuvering around cars and pedestrians. A messengers worst fear is death, he says.
"The industry has fatalities" That's something we have to think about" says Bill 36, who works in the downtown core.
Even though no messenger has died on the job in Edmonton, he hears about it on a regular basis.
"Being hooked up to the global (messenger) community, I hear about it a lot," he says, pointing out most of the deaths occur in Europe, where the bike messenger occupation is more popular.
But, Bill has been hit by vehicles several times.
"I've lost count," he says, adding that most of the collisions occurred when he first started out. "I was too aggressive"
Now he doesn't take chances with his life.
"I consider myself a very safe rider and I don't take any chances, or the chances I do take are well planned" he says.
"When you have a three or five minute deadline, you do it right"
He's also a target of road rage almost everyday.
"Most often we surprise people, all of a sudden coming up from behind them, which we are allowed to do, and they get startled. Their first reaction is to get angry" he says, adding that he has been followed for blocks and even assaulted.
"There's a hand gesture I get on a regular basis," he says, pointing out that bike messengers have a bad reputation.
"A lot of times we are misrepresented by some student on a bike, who just has a book bag" he says,
Bill says messengers follow all road rules and don't cut people off. Improper bike etiquette isn't tolerated, says Bill.
"There's only 30 of us and I know everybody"
The streets aren't the only hazard of the job though.
"It's tough on the body" says Bill, who's injured himself several times.
He's had two surgeries on his elbow, has broken his shoulder three times, dislocated his hip and has broken a number of fingers and ribs. But all dangers aside, Bill makes a good living, which beside a love of being outdoors keeps him on his bike. He's trying to break his record earnings of $376 in one day. Bill charges a flat rate of $5, and the further or faster the parcel has to get there, the more the price goes up.
He usually works banker's hours, but will make deliveries in the evenings for an extra fee. His deadlines are from 15 minutes to three hours. But the amount of money he makes varies from season to season, and day to day.
"In the summer it pays very little. The Industry is slow. So, the summer time can be really tough to work through when your making less than minimum wage on a lot of the days"
Being an independent messenger and working strictly for himself, Bill makes more than the usual messenger. Messengers who work for commission only get 50 to 60 percent of the rate for the product being delivered.
The harsh days of winter are when Bill makes the most money, and even the coldest day won't keep him off his bike. Bill says a person doesn't have to be in the best physical shape to be a courier. When things don't work out as planned, Bill says the best strategy is to stay calm. If things do really wrong, couriers have cargo insurance as a fall back.
"If your late with a tender, it could cost thousands of dollars."
Bill says the attitude amongst Edmonton bike messengers is to be the ambassadors of the streets. They quite often stop to help someone cross the street or give directions. And even take the law into their own hands.
"Some of us have caught purse thieves."
Between tight deadlines and dodging traffic, one thing literally keeps Bill moving,
"I love coffee, that's a common denominator for a lot of bike messengers"
Bill has worked for the past five years to bring the Cycle Messenger World Championships to Edmonton, which will take place next summer. He says that through the event he hopes to dispel some of that negative image that people have about couriers.