Bicycle messengers are pedaling uphill against the Internet

The San Francisco Chronicle reports:

Bicycle messengers are not quite an endangered species, but their business is certainly going downhill, yet another victim of the Internet.

Like many other companies, including newspapers, messenger services are finding it hard to complete with free and instant.

Anyone with a computer, a fast Internet connection and the ability to create a PDF file can send a photo, drawing or document of almost any size in a matter of seconds at no cost, other than the technology investment.

By comparison, it costs about $12 to send an envelope via messenger from the Ferry Building to the Federal Building in San Francisco.

"There was a big fear 20 years ago that the fax would do away with our business," says Philip Macafee, president of San Francisco's Own Quicksilver messenger service.

While the fax machine did put a dent in the business, it was nothing compared with the Internet's bite.

"We have five messengers today (compared with) maybe 20 bikes and 15 trucks in 1990," Macafee says.

Change.