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Watch: Meet the Bike Messengers Who Make Food Delivery Apps Possible

Weaving through traffic for little more than tips is no easy gig

For many city dwellers, the time between clicking "Order Now" in a food delivery app and accepting the still-warm plastic bag of pad thai from the courier on your doorstep is spent doing nothing but waiting. In the interim, however, a delivery person — often on a bicycle — is making an often death-defying ride, racing through traffic for tips. (If you're not sure how much you should be paying for this service, click here.)

Working as a courier for a meal delivery service — or many at once — means making your own schedule, operating off your phone, and spending the majority of your time outside. But what really goes into a workday spent on the back of a bike, and is it possible to make a living wage doing it? Watch the video above to find out.

To read (and watch!) more about bike messengers in the on-demand meal economy of New York City, check out the full report, here.

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