Financial Post March 11/13, 1995 pg 46
The temperature is near zero, a downpour of freezing rain is blanketingToronto and traffic is a mess.
Welcome to Wayne Tardiff's office.
Tardiff is one of several hundred bicycle couriers making a living inthe urban sprawl of Toronto. The 28-year-old has ridden through blisteringheat and inches of snow and survived many crashes, including a run-in witha taxi cab that left six stitches on his forehead.
Tardiff's seen everything but respect.
'’A lot of people are down on you... Somedays it's the last thing youneed,'' he says.
Rebellious bike couriers say they are completely misunderstood by Canada'scorporate culture, the benefactor they serve five days a week come rain,sleet or snow, 52 weeks a year.
''They'd be dead without us and they know it,'' says 28-year-old NicThomson. Thomson, an eight- year veteran, is currently organizing the CycleMessenger World Championships to be held in Toronto this August.
The bicycle courier business can be very lucrative, but unfortunatelyriders often see little of the profits. A company signs up cyclists, equippedwith their own bikes and gear, and sends them out into the streets withwalkie-talkies. Riders are dispatched clients for pickups and deliveriesand receive a commission on each journey based on the priority and distancetravelled.
But there's a catch. The riders are self-employed sub-contractors, butthey can't set their own rates and have little bargaining power. Few ofMetro Toronto’s approximately 30 courier companies have any benefit orhealth plans. As a result, the best a good rider can hope to make at anabove- average company is $100 a day. That's about $24,000 a year beforetaxes. And if bicycle couriers get sick, are injured or lose the serviceof their bikes through breakdown or theft they're out of luck.
"Sometimes the dollar value just isn't worth getting it there ontime, says computer science graduate-turned-courier Bill Long, 36.
Tardiff counts himself lucky. He rides for Toronto Express affectionatelynicknamed Toxic by much of the staff and is guaranteed a minimum of $60a day if he shows up for work on time each morning. And aside from onebad accident, he's had few health problems. All-weather riding leaves courierssusceptible to colds and the flu. In the worst cases, wet, cold wintersleave riders in 20s afflicted with rheumatism.
In addition, there s little upward mobility. Some couriers work onlya few months of the year and pursue their artistic ambitions during thewinter or summer. There’s a range aspiring musicians, writers, actors andgraphic designers riding the city streets. Other's become delivery drivers,mail room clerks or find entry-level office positions.
But career changes are for the future. In the hair-raising world ofdowntown delivery runs, couriers have more immediate concerns such as stayingalive. Reckless car drivers get the worst reviews. All riders have hadat least one accident. Thomson’s had four major bang-ups that requiredtime off work. The worst was a hit at the corner of Yonge and King streets.The door of an unmarked Omni police car swung open and Thomson flippedover the car, crashing on his back. His bike was ruined. He reports, however,that the police were "cool and apologetic" and gave him a lifthome.
Perhaps as a result of the grim working conditions and constant senseof danger, bicycle couriers have embraced the image of "the cowboyof the real urban variety," Long says.
There's a strong camaraderie among all riders and their urbanized hippiesubculture. Long hair, an artistic bent and left-of-centre politics arecommon, as are drug and liquor use, both on and off the job. In Vancouver,for example, riders use code words on their radio channel to meet at apre- arranged destination to enjoy a mid-afternoon joint.
"You often read about lawyers with cocaine habits,"says Thomsonin defence. "There’s a substantial drug culture throughout Canadiansociety."
And in a line of work that employs few woman, male bonding is high.Many Fridays and especially on Halloween and Valentine's Day Toronto riderswill take part in an illegal alleycat race under cover of darkness. Ina test of their riding skills, couriers tear across town to win money,valuable bicycle parts and alcohol. The races are gruelling, outrageousand without rules; one alleycat race allegedly went through the Jet FuelCafe, a Cabbagetown coffee house frequented by couriers.
And though the job can drive you nuts, doing the same runs day in andday out," Thomson is hard- pressed to think of any other line of workthat offers the same degree of freedom or enjoyment. "It's a lifestylething, an in-your-face job. . . . For a hyper person, it's a great wayto burn up energy.'' Tardiff agrees. ''You're not so dependant on managementas with a desk job," he says. '’You can turn off your radio when itgets a little hairy and just sit in the sun and have a cigarette."
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