Courier work
- Thread starter nofear
- Start date
Mine did, as long as it can be verified.
Often a company will ask you to take a drive test in the vehicle you will be driving from a certified school. If you pass this test then you are ready to go. When I had to do this I was told what school to go to and I spent about 20 minutes with an instructor as he told me where to drive and then he certified I was good to go. Cost me a $100 in 2005.
Why I had to do this is I did not have any recent log book time.
Why I had to do this is I did not have any recent log book time.
Deville
Not a Member
I think that was only for E units. I was in a similar situation. I had my CDL for almost 10 years but only drove locally. We filled out a DVIR,not a log book. I didn't even know how to use a log book until my FDCC orientation and I wasn't required to take a driving test to be certified.
When I see "Courier work" I'm thinking vans, Sprinters (count Sprinters as vans) and maybe lightweight straights. Does experience in courier work count? As long as you're in the same type vehicle (should be, courier and expedited both tend to be owner-operator situations) then it shouldn't be a problem. As long as your courier experience shows timely deliveries and an ability to find your way home from your left elbow, it counts.
Deville
Not a Member
It's industry related so it counts.
Can a courier, then, function as an expediter and a courier with the same vehicle (i.e. - Sprinter or cargo van)since expediting and courier are related?
When an expediter reaches a location and there are no loads immediately available (and is facing waiting time) but local on demand/hotshot courier work is available (assuming that the driver is an IC of that courier company), wouldn't it make sense to do that as opposed to waiting 2, 3, or more days for an expediter load with no cash flow?
Or is such an approach unworkable?
I am a courier now but considering expediting. I have OTR/Vehicle Transport (Hiker) experience in addition to courier experience. If I could do both, that would go a long way to going into expediting/courier work.
When an expediter reaches a location and there are no loads immediately available (and is facing waiting time) but local on demand/hotshot courier work is available (assuming that the driver is an IC of that courier company), wouldn't it make sense to do that as opposed to waiting 2, 3, or more days for an expediter load with no cash flow?
Or is such an approach unworkable?
I am a courier now but considering expediting. I have OTR/Vehicle Transport (Hiker) experience in addition to courier experience. If I could do both, that would go a long way to going into expediting/courier work.
If you wanted to do expedite you need to do that alone. Most often when we are called on a load it's go get it now not after you eat lunch or finish the local delivery across tow. I have a good amount of experience at both and am 100% certain that no it would not work.
Check with your local Ceva Logistics office. They do both courier and expedited freight. I'd check with them.
Not quite so... for one thing, most of the carriers do not accept you to work with multiple carriers, then what if they call you and they want you to go right away for a load, yet you're not able to do so since you're not done with the local deliveries...
There's also insurance, who gets sued if you get into an accident. That's why carriers won't allow it.
Been trying that courier job... it sucks.
Thanks, Treadmill. I will do just that.
OK, Turtle. I see. Expediting is certainly different from being a OTR Hiker.
I had this experience as an OTR Hiker:
Carrier A - Trip from Indiana to New Jersey (estimated 550 - 600 miles). After delivering vehicle, rested overnight, picked up Carrier B load in New Jersey to Southern California (2800 miles). This was within one day, HOS legal.
Apparently, running an expedited business in similar fashion won't work.
You can get your own insurance (the right kind and the right amount) and be your own carrier and then partner up with multiple carriers and do the multi-carrier thing, which on the surface seems like a really smart idea, as when one carrier can't get you loaded another carrier will. But the reality is... that doesn't happen. You just end up running the same number of loads as everyone else, but at cheaper rates. You're better off just lewsing on with a good carrier.
I don't see why it wouldn't as courier companies often do expediter type work. For example I once delivered a single 5 pound box from Chicago to Columbus OH. Another time I was sent to Cincinnati to pick up a skid and bring it back to Chicago. They once sent a guy to Tampa Florida. I love doing those long distance jobs. Easy money and I get the next day off to recover. Beats bouncing around the city in traffic all day.
Way back when I first got into expedited, I was a courier driver. Had to give up courier driving (no great loss) because these things, while similar, just do not work together. Especially when the courier company has loaded you with an all-day route, so if the expedited company does call---- sorry, can't do it.