Motorcycle couriers fight for life on Istanbul’s icy roads

Turkey's prominent metropolis, Istanbul, has been hit by a week-long heavy snowfall and subzero winds, adding to the trouble of motorcycle couriers who are struggling to deliver orders in such harsh weather conditions, daily Milliyet reported on Feb. 17.

"It is so hard to ride on snow and ice. We are dancing with death," said Mustafa Özdemir, the head of the Society of Motorcycle Couriers.

According to Özdemir, there are around 50,000 couriers in the metropolis, earning around 4,000 Turkish Liras ($570) a month, including tips, by working 10 to 14 hours a day.

Highlighting that at least twice a day he encounters a skidding incident, Lütfi M., a motorcycle courier working in the Beşiktaş district, said, "No one knows how it feels to freeze better than us."

Hasan Ceylanlı, who is a courier boy for more than 10 years, added that some of his colleagues encountered near-death experiences in this period.

"We are fed up with the insensitivity shown to us by people. At around 11 p.m., some people order desserts and then expect us to service it quickly," Ceylanlı said.

"The last two nights, I rode my motorcycle feeling completely numb due to the cold," he added.

Motorcycle couriers also complained about some business owners who try to bully them in order to get their work done.

According to the society head, some business owners do not care about the time, snow thickness, or icy roads and threaten courier persons working for them, saying, "Either service the order or lose your job."

"Some of them [business owners] force our friends to work day and night with no heed paid towards their right to have a personal life," Özdemir said.

Meanwhile, easing the worries of...