New Courier Renaissance

By Mark Davis

The so-called “courier decline” has been discussed over post-work beers since the fax machine was invented, and even more so as the internet came to prominence during the late nineties. In many ways, it would seem inevitable that an industry rooted in ferrying paperwork would decline as technology became more accessible, reliable, and versatile, but one look at today’s on-demand delivery landscape tells a different story. Between Postmates, Uber Rush, SpoonRocket, Caviar, Munchery, Washio, Ice Cream Life, Eaze, Wun Wun, the recently defunct Rewinery, the soon-to-be-refunct Kozmo.com, and a slew of smaller, locally-based companies such as TCB, Send It Courier, and Flavor Cycle, it seems that everyone is getting in on bicycle couriering one way or another. As a rider, this can be either a great opportunity or a horribly frustrating experience, depending on what you want to get out of a courier job.