You might think bicycle couriers are a relatively recent phenomenon – emerging from our rising frustration over increasingly congested city roads. But you’d be totally wrong. In fact, people started using pedal power for deliveries as far back as 1860 – not too long after the bicycle was first invented. Take a look at this old image from the Toronto Messengers’ annual race in 1893!
It’s nothing new – really
Yes – right from day one, people recognised there were so many more benefits of using bikes to get around the CBD, aside from being able to slice through the sort of traffic chaos we know today (although that’s probably the most satisfying). Bicycles are highly manoeuvrable, they’re immune from parking restrictions (mostly), tolls, fines, and they don’t burn costly fuel. All this makes them the vehicle of choice for cost-effective, risk-free and fast deliveries around any metro area – and it’s pretty much always been that way.
Believe it or not, even one of the UK’s largest courier companies, CitySprint, has a post-war bicycle messenger company in its “family tree”. Founded in San Francisco in 1945, the well-known messenger company, Sparkies, which later became Aero, was bought by CitySprint in 1998.
The golden 90s
Over the decades, bicycle couriers became so popular in cities around the world the very first Cycle Messenger World Championships (CMWC) were held 25 years ago in Berlin in 1993. The event was immediately so successful, it was held again the following year in London in 1994. At this time in history, most cities (and their courier companies) were at their wits end with the four-wheeled engine-powered vehicle – mostly because of rising fuel costs, traffic congestion and the rise of transport initiatives designed to tackle it. The 90s have even been described as the “golden age” for bicycle couriers.
So, why not have some fun along the way?! With growing numbers of bicycle couriers on the roads, the CMWC went onwards and upwards, arriving in Sydney in 2006 and hosted by Melbourne as recently as 2015.
Yes – the idea of using bicycles to transport our precious personal and corporate cargo around the city might be yesterday’s news, but it’s fair to say bicycle couriers have a deep-seated and interesting history in our major cities that most people don’t realise. And they’re certainly not going anywhere. But what is new?
Today, we’re bringing some innovation into the mix
With the benefits of bicycle couriers proven for well over a century, delivery companies and a wider range of retailers are turning to innovation to get more on-demand and same-day deliveries on two wheels (or three…) than ever before. And this innovation comes in so many forms.
Food delivery services like Deliveroo, Uber Eats or Foodora might have bicycles similar (mechanically) to the ones used by the Toronto Messengers as far back as 1893, but their neat smartphone apps which connect delivery riders to restaurants around the city are what makes the whole system work.
And then there’s just sheer quantity to aim for (after all, more deliveries for every cyclist means a healthier bottom line!) Last year, DHL Express piloted its new, aptly named Cubicycles. With this innovative new vehicle, vans can drop a container weighing up to 125 kg in a city centre where it’s then loaded onto a Cybicycle and transported to its destination. (But, who knows, perhaps this will only really work in cities with no hills…)
It doesn’t always have to be about pedal power either – apparently. There are also companies manufacturing some pretty fetching tuk tuks for the delivery market. Indeed, they might not be as green as bicycles and, yes, they may have three wheels instead of two, but they still have the edge on cars and vans when it comes to beating the traffic. Better still, one Melbourne company is even making some pretty cool electric cargo bikes – take a look here.