What exactly is a courier? The question is not as easy to answer as many believe.
There are a lot of different types of couriers:
- bicycle courier
- motorcycle courier
- car courier
These three types are mostly used for short range delivery. Over greater distance there are also used:
- trucks
- railways
- ships
- aircraft
Many companies often utilize on-board couriers. On-board couriers are individuals who can travel anywhere in the world, usually via commercial airlines.
On CHAKKR you can benefit from all kind of couriers! Just make your choice.
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A new draft of the regulation for Indian postal sector
0 Comments | Posted by admin in Courier News
The Department of Post is in the process of drafting a new regulation for the postal sector.
This is a necessity since the present act regulating the sector – the Indian Post Office Act 1898 – is outdated.
In fact, the earlier attempt to make an amendment to the Act of 1898 received significant criticism from the courier companies, various ministries and industry associations.
Private companies opposed various provisions of the amendment including use of a weight and price multiple to define a reserved area for India Post in letter and express mail services segments, asking larger companies to contribute to USO funding, proposing a roll-back of the FDI from 100% to 49% and suggesting a regulator for this sector.
While many of these issues are likely to be better addressed in the new regulation the need and the role of the regulator is still a bone of contention.
Over the past few months, ICRIER has been conducting a survey on the express delivery services (EDS)/courier industry to understand the need of a regulator for the industry.
The core issues discussed in the survey include whether the highly competitive EDS/courier industry, with no entry or exit barriers and multiple operators (more than 2500 companies) actually need a regulator.
And, if at all there is a need for the regulator then who should be the regulator and what should be its role and responsibilities.
In India, there is no common view across different segments of the courier/express industry and their clients on regulatory issues. Large express/courier companies felt that EDS should be outside the scope of regulator.
Around 59 per cent of clients did not disagree with the suggestion that government should impose some form of registration/licensing requirement to put a check on fly-by-night service providers.
Smaller courier companies also felt that some form of registration from an independent organisation will provide them security and credibility. However, they differed as to who should be the registering organisation – should it be a central courier association, regional associations, or should they register with an independent regulator?
Most of those who support the proposal for registration argued that it should be one-time registration based on the payment of a nominal fee and should be valid for life-long.
If it is life-long registration then it is difficult to monitor service quality. For ensuring service quality, there should be some basic standards which all companies have to follow and a periodic monitoring mechanism should be in place to ensure that companies compile with that standard.
Such periodic monitoring also entails costs since the number of courier companies is much large.
Moreover, since the courier industry/sector constitute of a large number of small, family-based unorganised companies spread across India, it is difficult to monitor them unlike companies in sectors like telecommunications where there are only a few large corporates.
Overall, the survey found that the cost of registration and monitoring is likely to be higher for smaller companies than larger companies since smaller companies are more localised, they do not have large administrative departments, and/or a mechanised system of regular collection of data/information.
These companies are already operating with tight margins and may have to wind up their operations. Since they are more labour-intensive it can adversely impact employment.
Other arguments from supporters of regulator includes anti-competitive practices, address of consumer grievance, access to network, etc.
The anticompetitive practices can be addressed by the Competition Act. Consumer forums can address consumer grievances and in a sector like courier, consumers have a wide range of choice of service providers. If the service provider does not provide quality services, then customer can easily change service provider and there is no cost associated with such a change.
Tie-ups and strategic alliances are crucial among courier/EDS service providers but, unlike telecommunications, there is no scarce resource which acts as an entry barrier and which can be monopolised.
Thus, the argument for a regulator is weak in case of EDS/courier services.
In this context, it is worth mentioning that the Planning Commission in its draft Regulatory Reforms Bill has proposed a regulator for Post (and not for courier) when the postal sector is liberalised. This is necessary since basic postal services are treated as a “public good” – which has to be made accessible to all and reasonable prices.
In fact, the regulators in most countries have come up with privatisation of the postal sector to regulate any malpractices from the dominant incumbent national postal organisation.
In most countries, EDS is outside the regime of postal regulator. The regulator has to be independent since Department of Posts also has similar express services (Speed Post) like private operators and hence has a vested interest in this sector.
Lastly, while in India some officials seem to want a regulator for each sector, the regulatory experiences have been mixed. The requirement for setting up of an additional infrastructure which entails costs will also have to be justified.
Allocations of all scarce resources do not need a regulator. If competition fails then regulator is justified. So far none of the private courier/EDS companies have raised such concerns.
So, the question is whether there is really is a need to bring a highly competitive EDS/courier sector under the regime of the regulator?
(The views expressed are those of the writers-Arpita Mukherjee (Professor, ICRIER), Ramneet Goswami (Researcher, ICRIER) and Parthapratim Pal (Associate Professor, IIM (Calcutta))
Source: India Blooms News Service
A question that arises every not-too-experienced passengers: How much luggage can I bring? Airlines differ on baggage allowance is essentially two different concepts. Which applies to you, you learn about your airline ticket – “Piece Concept” or “20 kg baggage allowance.
Piece Concept
The piece concept applies to the vast majority of flights in the U.S. and Canada, rarely to South or Central America. This may means that every adult passenger maximum economy may take two pieces of luggage free of charge, with each bag not exceeding 32kg (70lb) and the sum of length, width and height does not exceed 158cm (62in). You may take two suitcases á 25 kg, but not three á 10kg or a bag á 50kg.
Weight-Concept (weight concept)
It depends on the total weight of the luggage. Refer to your ticket How much you can take. In most cases, these are 20kg for an adult in Economy Class. Passengers of the Business or First Class may be charged accordingly more, children or babies take less luggage.
Hand luggage
Economy Class passengers may take one passengers of the First and Business Class two pieces of hand baggage on board. Airlines dictate the size and weight of the luggage piece. The size is limited to 42 * 25 cm.
Overweight
The rates for overweight are very high and can quickly get to the actual ticket price. It can be 9 EUR but also 42 EUR per kg – just for example.
CHAKKR is the solution
Sometimes it is therefore advisable to send heavy items in advance. In this case you can simply set a request at CHAKKR. You even might find a travel guest on the same flight that can take some extra kg of luggage for you!
A short story of Alan Tan from Malaysia:
Yet more stuff from the Internet. I’m not talking about virtual stuff here, but good physical things you can actually hold in your hand. Ever wanted something unique but can’t get ahold of it? Malaysia’s lelong.com.my and ebay.com.my have been around for ages. More so now, we also have Malaysia’s mudah.com.my as a portal to buy from. However, every time I get a parcel in the mail, the question from my colleagues is mostly the same. Is it safe to buy from the Internet? The simple answer is… get ready for it… NO!! Of course it’s not.
But, you can increase your online safety by knowing what you’re getting yourself into.
Malaysia’s postal service has much improved. But still, the Malaysian mentality of “it can get lost in the mail” is pretty much persistent. For good reason, too. Before I go further, let me say that I have lost items in the mail, and friends of mine who have taken a cue from me to buy from the Internet, have also lost items via the postal service.
This is just ONE man out of many, telling the same story. And here is the alternative to the postal service. Here is CHAKKR – The courier wheel!
Beijing expatriates have been warned not to take risks by flying as on-board couriers to get free traveling opportunities and to collect frequent flyer miles.
Beijing airport customs have warned expats of the risks of taking parcels with unknown contents on board airplanes, and authorities warned Sunday that more than 50 grams of an illegal substance can qualify the carrier for a death sentence, regardless of the traveler’s knowledge of the package’s contents.
“If any illegal substance is found in a bag under your care, you will be charged”, a worker with the Beijing Capital Airport customs department told the “Global Times”.
Source: Global Times
Our lead: always care about what you are taking with you! Do never take unopend packages or goods that are not absolutely secure.
Actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan (”Watchmen”) could be gained for the main role in the thriller “The Courier”. In it, he will be a courier, who specializes in illegal deliveries. His latest job brings him into trouble, because the receiver did not appear and he now is pursued across the country by police and criminals.
Let us hope that it does not happen on CHAKKR. But as long as it is fictitious: enjoy the story.
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German media in praise of CHAKKR – “Der Kurier sind Wir”
0 Comments | Posted by admin in CHAKKR News
“Der Kurier Sind Wir” => We are THE Couriers – That’s how some German newspapers titled their report about CHAKKR, in their daily edition today. Ms. Lakermann from WAZ newspaper, was impressed about CHAKKR and wrote a detailed article about CHAKKR together with a large photo of the CHAKKR Development lead, Patrick Schmidt.
For those who can read German, enjoy reading.
For others, what she wrote is what you see on CHAKKR. So, be proud to be a CHAKKR and keep spreading the word!.
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American Trucking shipment index falls 1.4 percent
0 Comments | Posted by CHAKKR Team in Courier News
ARLINGTON, Va.
A key index of U.S. trucking shipments fell 1.4 percent in June from May, the trucking industry’s main trade group said Tuesday, a sign an economist says indicates the economy is slowing.
The American Trucking Associations said the advance seasonally adjusted truck tonnage index fell to 108.5 last month. May tonnage also fell. That’s the first back-to-back tonnage decline in more than a year.
ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said the two sequential decreases show the economy is slowing. He predicts growth in truck tonnage should slow in the months ahead as the economy decelerates and the comparisons to a year ago become tougher because tonnage started to pick up last year. But the trucking industry won’t be as affected because there are so many fewer trucks on the road, which allows them to be more efficient and raise prices.
Trucking shipment data is a gauge of overall economic health because truckers haul more than two-thirds of all U.S. manufactured and retail goods.
When not seasonally adjusted, the change in tonnage hauled by the fleets was 6.5 percent higher in June from May.
Compared with June 2009, seasonally adjusted tonnage climbed 7.6 percent, which was the seventh consecutive year-over-year gain. So far this year, tonnage is up 6.6 percent compared with the same period in 2009.
The American Trucking Associations calculates the tonnage index based on surveys from its members, which include FedEx Corp., YRC Worldwide Inc., Werner Enterprises Inc. and Ryder Systems Inc.
Source: www.businessweek.com
Courier Wheel CHAKKR has changed, and will keep on advancing!
So what has changed now?
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You can find a courier guideline for using CHAKKR with all important information.
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Getting courier news on CHAKKR you will always be up to date. You are just using this new functionality.
Just take a look at the new changes of Courier Wheel CHAKKR!
What awaits in the future?
CHAKKR will get a whole new overworked design to make the site more user friendly and attractive.
How will it look like? Just be patient.
New York. Most bus and subway riders face fare increases of between 4% and 11% in January. A to Z Couriers NYC Inc. will pay 400% more to cover its subway rides.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is considering ending the $89 unlimited 30-day MetroCard that enables the company’s messengers to spend all day riding Manhattan subways delivering packages. The MTA would instead sell a pass good for 90 rides over 30 days, according to people familiar with the matter. The messengers—some of whom take 20 subway trips a day—would go through one such pass a week, according to company owner Adam Dally.
The cap is meant to help keep the cost of a 30-day pass from rising higher than $99—the level under consideration by the MTA—in January. Seven percent of current 30-day pass users would be affected by the cap, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The MTA’s management, facing a budget shortfall of $800 million, must present its board with a balanced budget for 2010 and 2011 on July 26. Half the budget gap was closed by service and cost cuts earlier this year. The MTA has been consolidating operations, laying off workers and trying—unsuccessfully so far—to win concessions from labor to deal with the remaining deficit.
![[NYMTA]](http://sg.wsj.net/public/resources/images/NY-AI981A_NYMTA_NS_20100718180841.gif)
MTA officials have said they intend to hold the net fare increase to the 7.5% agreed upon when the state bailed out the agency last year. But board members say a larger increase could still be proposed. The fare increase would be finalized after public hearings in September. It would go into effect in January.
Many courier services took to the subways when the MTA introduced the unlimited MetroCard in 1998. The pass was part of a plan pushed by then-Gov. George Pataki to boost ridership. It worked. The unlimited cards have also brought deep discounts for their users, whom officials say tend to be among the MTA’s more affluent riders. Currently, the average 30-day pass user pays $1.29 per ride—though that’s likely brought down by extreme users such as messengers.
A courier riding 20 times a day would pay about 22 cents per ride. The average rider who buys a pay-per-ride MetroCard with a bonus—officials say these include poorer people who can’t afford to spend nearly $100 at once—pays $1.96.
The MTA’s fare-increase proposal is aimed in part at narrowing that gap. Average fares for pay-per-ride users would go up 4%, while 30-day passes would rise 11%, according to people familiar with the matter. Weekly unlimited passes would also be capped.
“Everybody gets negatively impacted. The fare is going up. The question is who gets negatively impacted the least,” said Mitchell Pally, an MTA board member from Long Island.
The switch by couriers to the subways from bicycles came as the system’s reliability improved and crime declined. Rising costs for worker’s compensation insurance for bike messengers also contributed. Now subways are crucial for many messenger services—and they’ll likely stay that way, despite the outsize fare increases they face.
“I could buy the subway system in its entirety” for what it would cost to pay insurance for bike messengers, Mr. Dally joked. Cost and tax increases “always come out to be quite a lot, but not enough to change the way you do business,” he said.
Source:
Andrew Grossman andrew.grossman@wsj.com