BikeXenger Bicycle Messenger Service in Bangkok
There are a lot of issues that thwart Thailand’s bicycling environment from matching that of other countries, whether it be climate, culture or urban planning.
‘‘I want to cycle for something, whether it be humanity or the environment. I want others to see the benefits of cycling other than wandering around,’’ says Mr Montri.
This results in low usage of bicycles, particularly on the streets of Bangkok, a city notorious for being bicycle-unfriendly, even as the world is concerned with global warming. Despite these limitations, 34-year-old Montri Chantayingyong, an avid cyclist, is turning what started as an activity among enthusiasts into a bicycle-delivery businesses.
At first, the initiative was developed as an activity within the Chamchuri Square group to promote the use of bicycles and reduce pollution.
“Members would hop on their bicycles and ride just to have fun, which then led to riding for society, which included raising money to donate to children,” said Mr Montri, who is a member of the group and an engineer by profession.
“I want to cycle for something, whether it be humanity or the environment. I want others to see the benefits of cycling other than wandering around.”
This led to setting up Boonbike, which buys and sells bicycle parts, with part of the proceeds slated to buying bicycles for the underprivileged in remote villages who can’t afford their own bikes to ride to school. The activity is organised by the Thai Cycling for Health Association.
Under the scheme, cyclists in the group are assigned to collect parts or bicycles donated for sale to raise funds for the association. Once orders are secured, the cyclists deliver them via bike, charging 40 baht per trip throughout Bangkok.
The business BikeXenger sprung up as a consequence.
The name combines the words bike and messenger while the X stands for express. Started late last year by friends and enthusiasts, the delivery service now handles anything portable, from documents and books to bike accessories and food.
A customer is charged 50 baht per delivery, with 15 baht for every kilometre of service. A monthly package of 22 deliveries costs 1,100 baht for one to three kilometres. The charge will go up to 6,600 baht for a distance of 20 kilometres.
The distance is calculated using Google Maps. Once an order is placed via their Facebook page, the team will immediately find the member closest to the customer to take up the assignment. All the staff are Chamchuri Square (CSQ) cycling club members and have been trained to survive the Bangkok traffic.
BikeXenger receives an average of six jobs per day, relatively few for a business to stay alive.
The company has 10 members, four of them working full-time.
It recently won an award at the social enterprise business competition held at the beginning of this year, which led better recognition and financial support.
“At first we focused on the restaurant market and health food. But it was not cost-effective and we found certain types of food are not appropriate for transport,” said Mr Montri.
Many factors are considered before accepting a job, including making sure the package will not be damaged easily, does not weigh more than 20 kilogrammes and is not wider than shoulder-length.
BikeXenger has 30 customers and four regular clients, including a restaurant, a small company, a fish sauce factory and OCBC bank.
Most of the jobs are on a daily basis, divided into mornings and afternoon deliveries.
“Some days we worry whether there will be any jobs, while others loads of orders come in. We could deal with these boom cycles if more people are on standby,” he said.
As business picks up, Mr Montri is looking for more delivery cyclists.
There are not set monthly wages yet as the company is still developing, but he plans to set up a company in the future as people are interested in joining the business.
“Our business plan was to have five to six employees, which will cost us 30,000 baht per month for a 6,000-baht wage plus 4,000 baht in commissions, but we don’t have enough deliveries to support that yet,” he said.
Mr Montri has many bicycles on hand, but the one he has been using for this job for eight months is a second-hand Louis Garneau costing only 6,500 baht.
His weight dropped from 76 to 60 kilogrammes over the past five years since he started cycling.
“I think very few Thais care about bicycle delivery. Motorcycles, our direct competitors, are used by most companies, but their disadvantage is flexibility. For instance, when there’s a traffic jam, we can drive on the footpath, but [motorcycles] will have a hard time doing the same if they aren’t familiar with the area,” said Mr Montri.
Although motorcycles can carry heavier parcels, bicycles do a better job in transporting documents, he added.
Panot Phutthaisong, the co-founder of BikeXenger, said while the business is far from lucrative, the outlook is promising as companies are increasingly concerned about health and the environment. “You can easily hire a motorcycle taxi driver to deliver your stuff at probably a lower cost and faster speed. But people who hire these bike messengers think beyond simply minimising their costs,” he said. “Our services are carbon-free and green.”
Originally posted as ‘Different spokes’ in Business section of Bangkok Post 20/09/2011
Article by Nanchanok Wongsamuth
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