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August 16, 2006
End of the road for the bicycle boys?
Apparently everyone's favourite hate figures, bicycle couriers, have fallen on hard times, at least in the capital they have. The local news last night reported that some of London's major courier firms are feeling the inevitable impact of electronic message delivery – email to you and me.
No surprises here, you might think – who'd want to give a mission critical business document to a pot-smoking, lycra-wearing loon who'll then do his level best to cause vehicular mayhem in the overcrowded streets of our nation's capital? Better to just hit the send button, and with encryption technologies and anti-spam assurance initiatives like Sender ID, firms can be guaranteed their documents will arrive on time, in the right place and not having caused a major road traffic accident on Shaftesbury Avenue.
But before you get the champagne out to toast the demise of our courier friends, technology won't be getting rid of these two-wheeled tykes anytime soon, if the packages that arrive on our desks here at IT Week are anything to go by. In recent weeks; a bottle of Limoncello di Capri, one of rum, a wireless router and an electronic radio-controlled mouse on wheels.
People have been predicting the death of messengering since that geezer pegged it after running all the way from Marathon. I predict that people will still be delivering things by bicycle long after you are food for worms, mate.
If everyone hates them as you suggest, then why do so many people copy them and their style.....?
Courier culture is thriving.
Annual courier speed test:
www.addicts.tv
Why not come along and discuss your opinions on couriers with the guys themselves.....
Never knew there were so many IT managers who moonlight as couriers. I should write about this more often obviously. I don't doubt there'll always be a place for couriering stuff manually, as i alluded at the end of the entry.
You're entitled to your unimaginative, rubbish and wrong opinion.
Personally, I reckon intelligent software which can be managed by any pea-brained user, and which will self diagnose will see the end of pathetic geek-blogs written by chubby desk-riders long before messengers are extinct.
So you can stick that in your RJ45 and smoke it. Ride fast, ride free.
Its the same world over, even if the traffic isn't that bad, most efficient means of moving important packages for everyone from seaport customs docs to joe public's grande americano coffee and burger lunch (They can even help him feed his sorry arse borderline obese self! :)
- Until jeff goldblum perfects his matter transfer pod thars still money to be made and trips to do!