The Financial Post has determinedthat couriers days are number. And they've got the proof! At least proofenough to publish this article. Couriers are in danger because some couriercompany owner in Calgary has an opinion.

This sounds like another attemptto devalue the bike messenger service. That way they can keep prices lowfor bike couriers and jack them up for other courier services.

It's funny how the only time theyadmit that fax and e-mail won't kill the courier is when they come up witha new threat.

The bike messenger has defeatedthe car, the phone, the fax, e-mail and the rest. Do you ever think they'llwrite an article about this?

When is the last time someonesent "spam" or junk mail by bike messenger on a hot shot. They continueto mistake the competition for messengers. The messengers biggest competitionis the pace of people's lives. As the pace gets faster messengers thrive.If people ever slow down then we'll have to worry.

Our days have been number forover a hundred years. It's time they started counting up instead of down.It all depends on how you look at it. For some people the longest lifeis nothing but the slowest death.]

DAYS NUMBERED
Internet challenges cyclecouriers

By Shannon Sutherland
e-exchange
Financial Post, October 1999

Motorists hate them and pedestrians fearthem, but it's not unpopularity forcing bike couriers off the streets.It's telecommunications technology.

"We're in a dying industry. We know that,"says Nash Virji, a partner with Elite Fleet Courier in Calgary, which managesabout 25 bike couriers. "If you want to make a career out of being a bikecourier, you're in trouble."

So, if sucking exhaust fumes and dodgingangry motorists doesn't discourage bike couriers, the job prospects might.They survived the advent of faxes, but e-mail, data imaging and electronicdata interchange are taking their toll.

"The Internet is impacting the courierindustry in a positive way because all the orders coming off the Internethave to be delivered," says Tim Roy, director of corporate services forCalgary's West DirectExpress Ltd., which also runs about 25 bike couriers."Unfortunately for bike couriers, it [e-commerce] hasn't helped them muchbecause of the constraints -- they can only carry envelopes and small packages."

Mr. Virji says focusing on new clientshas helped the situation somewhat. He says, for instance, while architectscan send drawings electronically now, pharmaceutical companies still can'tsend out product samples without a
courier. He says business with architects,law firms, banks and oil companies has dropped while clients in such industriesas pharmaceuticals and stationery have helped pick up some of the slack.

But some companies still place their trustin people over computers. Max Lof, a spokesman for Poco Petroleums Ltd.in Calgary, says his company still relies heavily on couriers since mostclients still want a signed original when it comes to documents. His perceptionis that using a courier is still the most secure option.

So, bike couriers will remain part of cityscapes for some time yet, but the future is definitely not as bright astheir bicycle shorts.