Bike couriers

They're a pain in the arse!

Yep they're endemic, but if you want a Gig-Economy slave to Deliveroo trans-fats to your Door as rapidly as possible this appears to be the only workable solution.

true...

i cant help but think that if the delivery companies just put some reflective strips on the back of their bags it would help a little

Black is very slimming though...they'll be making sure they are slim enough to fit through that gap between you and the car next to you...

(I'm joking just to be clear - I don't understand why they are all dressed in black without any lights and seems to float across the roads without any real care or attention)

If the delivery riders where properly paid and legal then the price would be prohibitively high

No problem where I live.  Possibly as it's around 7miles to the nearest takeaway 🤣

I don’t know why the police don’t just start pulling these people in as it would be easy pickings if they are so chose.

Because it takes a couple of officers off the street for several hours while they deal with the issue. And short of a fine (which is unlikely to ever get paid), there's not a right lot they can do about it, the person will be back out there the next night on another bike doing exactly the same.

That was more or less the answer the police themselves gave in a Neighbourhood Watch meeting that my Mum was at when some old busybody started banging on about e-scooters. The police basically said that while they realised it was an irritant, there were very few actual safety concerns, very few reported incidents or accidents and which would the public rather they deal with - burglaries, robberies, vandalism etc or pulling over some kid on an illegal e-bike?

Yep they’re endemic, but if you want a Gig-Economy slave to Deliveroo trans-fats to your Door as rapidly as possible this appears to be the only workable solution.

This. If society wants a Big Mac in 15 minutes, society needs to deal with the fact that there'll be gig economy folk riding it like they stole it, out there for 12+ hrs a day and the only realistic/cheap way of doing that is on a derestricted e-bike.

I'm with the op on this.  They're not an irritants, they Are dangerous.  Just having some lights and hi viz would make a huge difference.

Ebike, restricted or not, no problem, all black clothing, no problem, no lights, no problem, no reflectives of any kind, no problem whatsoever.
but when it’s all of them together, that’s a problem.
now, I’m all for informed choices, so if someone wants to take the chance riding around like that, crack on i say.

but, you can’t really complain if somebody in a car doesn’t see you.

actually, ignore the bit about ebikes, it’s irrelevant.

I've driven up to pick my son up from rehearsals in Pimlico a few times recently, Sunday early evening driving back through Wandsworth and Clapham, prime delivery hour and prime delivery location. It's brilliant, like being somewhere between Mario Cart and a restricted Moto GP.

All you have to do is drive normally and rely on them to avoid you, they're mad but in the main pretty good.

Agreed - not just delivery riders tho.

Pain in the arse around here. No respect for the rules and conventions.

Add face covering in all weathers to the list of complaints. Unidentifiable lunatics, taking the piss of us and the lawmakers/police.

For what the riders are doing, I don't find their poor treatment by the companies to be any excuse. You're in this country, riding a bike, therefore you do it like this as the Romans do. Ultimately with any vehicle the operator is responsible, regardless of the root cause of a bad employer, overambitious schedule, lack of maintenance etc.

Bloody cyclists, jumping red lights, riding like they own the road.

Apparently they don't pay road tax either.

It's all right they will eventually cremate themselves and unfortunately several other people in battery fires.

I don’t know why the police don’t just start pulling these people in as it would be easy pickings

98% of the cuts in policing since 2010 have been in front line policing.

But thats great for us as tax payers, I presume, as it means we're all only paying 2% of what we used to. (I haven't done the maths)

All you have to do is drive normally and rely on them to avoid you, they’re mad but in the main pretty good.

I actually think unpredictable cyclists do the rest of us a service. Wasn't there research that showed that the more 'pro' a cyclist looked in terms of bike, outfit, helmet etc, the closer drivers passed them. Cycle like a riderless horse at the derby and drivers give you a much wider berth and perhaps start to learn to give all cyclists a bit more room.

It is after all the car drivers who are under the restrictions of a license (thats what license means) - cyclists, pedestrians, even pigeons - pigeons from this country and pigeons from other countries-   have more right to the road than the cars do.  If delivery riders are helping motorists learn their place in the hierarchy  thats a good thing

How very dare they wear face coverings in cold weather. Fortunately that will be outlawed in the forthcoming policing bill.

I don’t know why the police don’t just start pulling these people in as it would be easy pickings if they are so chose

The reason why it isn't done is resourcing and priorities, but I agree, as a driver they are a danger to themselves and as a cyclist, they give the rest of us a bad name.

If their "employers" were held to account for illegal bikes it might make a difference, but it may affect the viability of the whole delivery/fast food gig economy.

The fact that I, as a coffee addict and fast food lover, have never thought "I'm so desperate for a Greggs/Costa/McBreakfast" that I would get one delivered rather than get off my fat arse to go there myself and pick it up makes me wonder who the hell is keeping these folk in work.

My youngest works in a bike shop where loads of these guys bring their wheels in to get fixed.

He hates working on their wheels, they're total junk and really awkward to build.

But he does like talking to guys themselves, says they're all dead nice, from all sorts of countries with all sorts of backgrounds, but some real hard lives behind them.

But he does like talking to guys themselves, says they’re all dead nice, from all sorts of countries with all sorts of backgrounds, but some real hard lives behind them.

Yep lots in Cambridge seem to be from the same ethnic group, some seem to barely speak English.

I suspect a lot are illegal immigrants sub letting someone else's account (and having someone else take a cut of their meagre wages).

Pretty sorry state of affairs.

I'm fascinated by the economics of this and have spent a lot of time watching them in central London. Many appear to use exactly the same bikes, motors, locks etc. which makes me think there's a supplier who's renting the kit to them, presumably for a large cut, and helping many of them get round the lack of work visa.

The riders are just trying to make a living in an incredibly expensive place to live. We need to look at ourselves as consumers and as a society for permitting the companies to exploit the poor and disadvantaged.

Many appear to use exactly the same bikes, motors, locks etc. which makes me think there’s a supplier who’s renting the kit to them, presumably for a large cut, and helping many of them get round the lack of work visa.

There's a whole industry built up exploiting them in Cambridge.

We have a group of feral kids who steal push bikes, motorbikes and the food courier's Eskutas pretty much 24/7. So much so there is a whole FB group dedicated to tracking their antics and retrieving stolen bikes etc.

With the Eskutas's they hang around take away joints, jump on the bike if it's left unlocked and then sell it back to the victim or another courier, looking for a cheap bike to enter the business.

Periodically the Police raid a house and find half a dozen Eskutas.

The scrotes have favourite dumps in local woods where they hide the stolen bikes. You can also find piles of Deliveroo clothing and insulated bags dumped where they ditch all the owner's possessions. It's completely barking mad...