As self-employed couriers, can anyone give me a per-drop costing that they would expect to get to earn a 'decent' - minimum £250 take home, i.e. after tax and insurance - wage per-week please?

Thanks Charlie,

I do like a man who gives it to you straight; his thoughts that is.

Fortunately (or not, we'll see) I don't live in the smoke. I'm in Bristol and a small group of people are just about to set up the only cycle courier business in the city. We will be self employed, with an 'entrepreneur' providing all the necessary back-up to make it work. We want to put it to him about the potential charges to customers and the cut we would want to take in order for us to feel like we get a decent take home pay. For example, if the customer were charged between £8-£10 per drop - this is Bristol and not London remember - would we be reasonabale to expect a 50% cut on that? If I do say 20-25 pick-ups per day, five days a week, that's £400 gross per week. Does that sound do-able?

I agree with you about the economy and it will get much, much worse I think, although even a gazillion PhD's won't save you from the shit that's coming.

No worries Mickmack, I envy you in Bristol, its Bristol carnival tomorrow in St Pauls, nuff good music and ting! And I do TRY to talk straight, even with my tendency to take the piss a bit too much which often comes back to haunt me in ways that make me wish I'd shut the fkuc up. Have a good weekend out West dude.

Heh heh. Just had a look at Actus website to see how they're doing and saw this:

"We’re ahead of the game – and our competitors, with our use of Brompton (foldable) cycles to beat the traffic in London and other cities. Parking his van on the outskirts, the courier switches to the Brompton to deliver your package to the city centre in as fast a time as possible."

Anyone ever seen this? I bet the bikes are just gathering dust in a storeroom. I can't really picture the old actus van drivers riding bromptons, nice idea though.

Edit: On a positive note it also says: "BS1 collection and deliveries from as little as £7.00" 133% rise in rates! Approximately zero is whats happened here in that time.

Glad you had fun, did you catch Negus Melody sound system? Wicked roots from your ends, looking forward to when they return to London soon.

If it doesn't take much to start up a cycle courier company, then everybody would be doing it, I'd guess. Wouldn't most of you guys rather be doing it for yourself in a Co-op or such-like?

I'd never job and claim Josh. It's too much potential grief. Good luck to you, if you can get away with it.

We don't know how it's going to work out, we'll suck it and see, though we're ten years on now from when you were working here and things do change.

"50/50 is the normal split, or was when it worked that way." I took this to mean you thought that this is a legit split, if not, what are you on Josh?

FWIW I never signed on while working either, that's why I had to leave Bristol or stop working as a courier.

"what are you on Josh? " took this to be an insult for a second but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and take it you mean cut of rates! I'm on a shipyard in Norway. Got out of courier business 3 years ago. Most London firms don't do percentage splits anymore, they pay whatever they want, who knows what they charge.

Thing with 50/50 is thats where courier companies set the rates back in the days you needed office, radio channel, office staff. You don't have to have any of those things now. When they were neccessary 50/50 on a 3 rider channel like Bristol was almost a bargain in that sense, but the companies also had vans & motorbikes to help cover the costs and of course we covered the central work that the drivers didn't want and were good PR (it all is right?) Oh yeah I'm assuming you're just starting a cycles company? If you want motors too this is all a bit irrelevant.

Anyway I couldn't be fucked to start my own firm but there are others out there who have succeeded (mostly not in the UK) and it can be done with some fancy phones and no office. Getting the accounts is the hardest bit I imagine but maybe its possible on the cheap with some ingenuity. Not my area of expertise but its worth lookin into.

What I do know about is working on a 50/50 in Bristol which is bad enough when the companies already set up and you just work there. Setting the company up yourself (as you seem to be doing) and then getting shafted like that just for the sake of the startup money, bollocks to that.

Good luck mate

Most likely building wooden legs. Ho w you doing Captain?

just read a book set in Norway its about the Beatles good great reviews cover looks a bit like the help album

Thanks guys,

yeah sorry Josh, I wasn't trying to be sly, but I can see that it wasn't very clear. Easy man. Your last post here is inspiring and if I can get others to help run tings ourself then I'd much rather that, than what's on offer on the table at the mo'. It sounds like there's still part of you that wants to stay connected with the cycle courier sketch, even though you presumably are happier where you are now.

Thanks Cap'n, I'll try not to be gay and push for a better deal.

I signed for that so I know the pike and the charity got shafted.