Pedal Me Pinky: Resigned?

Moving home?

We gather somebody might be changing residence soon in SW1A. We are, of course, happy to help… Rolls of wallpaper to be shifted? Empty beer barrels to return? Perhaps a ride to one of one’s other residences? It would be a pleasure.

Forwarding address please? pic.twitter.com/wUec4qwmqe

— Pedal Me (@pedalmeapp) July 7, 2022

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Dismissive missive

An alarming story emerged in The Observer at the weekend detailing the dismissal of delivery riders for Just Eat, sub-contracted from a company called Stuart, due to being mis-directed by a malfunctioning in-house GPS system.

The couriers employed by Stuart, a subsidiary of parcels company DPD, told The Observer they were sacked by email after being mis-located by the GPS system or deviating from impossible or dangerous routes.

The Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB) said it had investigated 55 cases since March 2021.

(photo: Lydia)

Sacked riders reported attempting to raise problems related to routing while on shift, only to get through to a generic chatbot, with responses such as “No worries, an agent will take it from here” and “This is an automated message, please do not reply”.

Pedal Me has a human despatcher on hand at all times, to assist our riders and aid the smooth running of our operation. We ensure they have the best tools for the job, from bikes and bags, to navigation systems and rigorous training. We believe our staff are what makes this company the best – and treat them accordingly. It’s common sense.

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Rider of the week

Film maker Dom studied creative production before focussing on cinematography at university in Manchester, going on to work on programmes such as Channel 4’s hit Hunted, several ‘blue light’ documentaries, and a major Bollywood action movie, Commando 3 – “Curry every day, breakfast, lunch and dinner.” The look on his face suggests it is actually possible to have too much of a good thing…

Another fascinating gig on his CV was accompanying comedian Greg Davies to Barnsley for a documentary on author Barry Hines, writer of A Kestrel for a Knave, later made into the classic 1969 film Kes, directed by Ken Loach.

“We met the actor, Dai Bradley, who plays Kes in the film,” Dom says. “He still looks like a kid! He’s something of a local hero.”

Any upcoming film work in the pipeline, Dom? “I’m looking to do smaller scale stuff. I’ve done a lot of TV. Sometimes it’s really fulfilling and sometimes it leaves a lot to be desired. I worked on a programme called Filthy House SOS – reality TV, painting impoverished people as needing to get their acts together. That totally turned me off the idea of doing that.

“The reason I got involved with Pedal Me was I was really impressed by what they did. I had previously used them to transport my own equipment from job to job, and always thought this could be big. There is something about it.”

Nice one, Dom.

Keep your eyes peeled for his Pedal Me film in the next couple of weeks, where we take actor Michael Smiley (Jawbone, Luther, not to mention the legendary Tyres O’Flaherty in Spaced) and put him through his Pedal Me cargo bike training paces. Will the former courier pass with flying colours? Or will instructor Mya fail him on the fiendishly difficult slalom course? Could go either way…