10Speeds, all overdrive: a couriers guide to Boston

BostonSunday Globe - Business
 

Thetraffic light is about to turn red.  Tom Procito leans over the handlebarsof his 10-speed racing bike and floors it, pedaling furiously.  Hezips part oncoming cars with plenty of room to spare.

"Thebiggest adrenaline rush is thinking you're gonna get hit, and then youwhiz right on by," said Procito, 22, a bicycle courier for City Express,one of Boston's largest delivery services.

Procitomaneuvers expertly, darting through traffic on Boylston Street.  Hehops his bike onto the sidewalk, leans it against the wall of 399 Boylston,whips out his u-shaped lock, secures the front wheel and the frame, walksthrough the glass doors of the office building and nods to the securityguard.

Procitopicks up a package from an architectural firm and is back down in the lobbyinside 3 minutes.  The package is a "rounder" -- a round-trip delivery. Next, he's off to Federal Street.

Onea typical day, Procito delivers 30 packages and logs 20 miles.  He'sbeen in the courier business four years and has gains 20 pounds worth ofmuscle since he started.  His ponytail, cutoffs and unshaven facefit in well within the renegade courier culture.

Procitosays he brings in around $400 in a week.  "Pays the bills," he saidwith a shrug.  "But hey, you're getting paid to stay in shape."

At75-101 Federal St., the receptionist reminds Procito to "Have a nice day"before he exits.

"They're(the receptionists) the 'X-Men,' because they always sign the X," quippedProcito.  " The courier-receptionist relationship is an odd one. In the summer, they're like bummed to be indoors and are glad to see you. In the winter, it's like 'Ha ha, I'm warm and you're cold.'"

 Beingpaid on commission per package means every extra minute counts.  Procito'stip for efficiency:  "You press [the] down [button on the elevator]before you even deliver the package.  And then you come out and theelevator's right there and you're like 'Oh yeah!'"

Beingefficient also means cutting corners, going the wrong way down a one-waystreet and running yellow and red lights, much to the concern of driversand pedestrians.  But Procito said more experienced messengers knowtheir limits.

"I'mnot going to get killed for six dollars," he said.

Courierservices provide a heartbeat to Boston's downtown economy.  The legaldocuments, photos, blueprints and plane tickets that have to be there before5 p.m., first thing in the morning, ASAP and before the plane leaves wouldbe lost without the road warriors.

Stressis acutely high in Boston because of the number of medical packages thatmust be moved among the extraordinarily high concentration of hospitalsand universities.

Oneof the most infamous courier routes is referred to as the "Foreskin Route"-- delivering freshly circumcised foreskins from Beth Israel Hospital toBoston University laboratories.  What they do with them there, thecouriers say, they don't want to know.

CityExpress, founded in 1989 by then-24-year-old Aaron Driben, Jim Berlutiand Ted Kauffman, has established itself as one of the fastest growingcourier companies in Boston, partially through its use of up-to-date technologythat includes ultrachic cellular phone-radios.

"O'Sevenhere.  I got a Fed and a Dry Dock here.  What else you got forme?"  Procito calls in from the South End, as he must do after eachpickup.

A womandrives up beside his bike.  "Excuse me, sir.  Could you tellme how to get to 100 Franklin St.?"  Procito points out the directions,then says, "If I had a quarter for every time someone asked me for directions,I'd be making more money than I am now."

CityExpress, which made more than $2 million in revenue last year, was oneof Inc. Magazine's 500 fastest growing companies in 1994.  It wasrecently selected by Boston magazine as the Best of Boston courier service. The company uses a combination of foot couriers, bikers and vans to caterto its customers.

Withits computers, pagers, high-tech radios and extensive staff, City Expresshas higher overhead than many of its competitors.  And it stays open24 hours a day, 365 days a year.  So in order to grow, it has diversifiedits services, even offering Gillette employees shuttles between the SouthEnd plant and the company's downtown offices.

 CityExpress' corridors are lined with letters of thanks from clients, includingthe Boston Bruins.

"It'sstrange building up telephone relationships with people," said customerservice representative Josh Dand, who estimates that 70 percent of thepeople they talk to call at least three or four times a day.

"Thereare people who know me by voice, but if they met me they'd be really scared,"said Dand, who sports a shaved head and an earring and who works as a bouncerat night.

Courierssay City Express pays significantly less commission than other companies,where someone of Procito's skill could be pulling more than $600 a week. As an independent courier, he could be pulling even more.  However,City Express hires its couriers as employees and not as independent contractors,which means it pays for health insurance and workers' compensation -- nosmall consideration for pedal-pumping bikers.

Liketwo years ago when Procito got "doored" -- he was hit by an opening streetside car door -- and was sent to the hospital.  City Express footedthe bill.

Wordof serious accidents travel quickly among the tight-knit couriers. They estimate serious accidents occur once a month and fatalities onceevery few years.  In 1988, Northeastern student David Reuter diedafter six weeks in a coma resulting from a collision with a pickup truck. In 1987, a part-time messenger for Quicksilver Messenger Service Inc.,Katherine Childs, was killed after a collision with a five ton truck.

Procitokeeps vigilant.  "My peripheral vision must be better than Larry Bird's,"he said.  "You need it to prevent getting into accidents."

Couriersadmit their breakneck speed leads them to risky situations -- you're notconsidered a courier if you haven't kissed the pavement.  But theblame, they say, for accidents is shared.  Couriers say they havethree basic requests from drivers and pedestrians:  use the turn signal,use the rearview mirror before opening the car door, and look both waysbefore stepping into the street.

TheBoston courier business grew out of the taxi industry  in the mid-60s,when companies were ordering them for people, according to Morey Sachs,City Express' vice president of sales and marketing.  " At the time,you could count the courier services on one hand,' he said.  Today,the yellow pages lists dozens of companies, employing a total of between150 and 200 bicycle couriers.