Paper rounds/paper routes. Do they still exist where you are?

FAST6191 · Feb 22, 2020

So I am round someone's house a few weeks back and made a remark about paper rounds to one of their kids. "What is that?"... and these were reasonably world wise kids in the middle of high school in a big town.
In a nearby village I see them at weekends if I am walking the dog that way but that might be just weekend papers (certainly don't really see anybody during the evenings or mornings during the week). Logically speaking if most people are getting news from online then that would also knock on to paper rounds being troubled but I had no idea it was like that.

For those unfamiliar here is a totally accurate simulation of the concept

Tom Bombadildo · Feb 22, 2020

Not in the "kid riding bike throwing shit through you window" vein, but we do have a city newspaper that's occasionally delivered every month or so by a company in a mini van. They don't toss the paper out at your house or anything, they just toss them on the ground in front of your driveway in a little plastic bag (which gets run over 99% of the time by me or my wife at my house

).

AmandaRose · Feb 22, 2020

Here in my little town Dalmuir just outside of Glasgow we still have a paper boy who delivers the news papers every day. I think I own the only house he does not deliver to as my house is right next door to the shop he gets the papers from. We also still get milk delivered to our houses from the milk man unlike pretty much anywhere else in Scotland.

slaphappygamer · Feb 22, 2020

i had a paper route when i was in 7th-8th grade. it was great to ride my bike around the neighborhood at 5:30 am and deliver papers. tuesdays was best because the paper was the lightest. saturdays (because of all the ads and comics) were the total opposite. my bike was so heavy that i once crashed into a parked car. no damage, so i rode off. i was bummed when i was told that the company wanted drivers. a paper route is a great kid job, like going around the neighborhood to offer yard work if you needed extra money. i bought my first tv with the money from my paper route. thats a real good feeling that (i believe) some kids miss out on. work hard, earn money, and have what you would like.

WarioWaffles · Feb 22, 2020

Sort of, a dude in a truck chucks em out in the early morning.

FAST6191 · Feb 22, 2020

This doing it in a vehicle is rather alien to me; only times you ever saw it here were when it had to get done quick for them to go somewhere, or they were sick that day and were not up for lugging the bag around.

That said having wandered around various parts of suburban US it is not exactly pedestrian friendly (it is rare as you like around here for there not to be pedestrian cut through paths everywhere, and also most places have pavement) and the distances from newsagents/shops would make that a harder ask for a kid on a bike.

As for milk deliveries still pretty common (in as much as I see them) everywhere I go in England and Wales, can't say I have been in Scotland during the mornings to see what goes. Probably not half as popular as it once was and some people being all whale hugger and not wanting plastic.

Still I was more curious how it changed pocket money for kids. Saturday jobs in shops are not so much of a thing these days (depending upon your age you may well have to do a whole bunch of background checks on your staff, and you probably have some adults or existing staff happy for the hours) and they were borderline mythical even back then (some exceptionally lucky types might have got one in woolworths, and if your dad/uncle/family friend owned a shop then maybe that as well). If those were the two main routes I am not sure what exists today.

phreaksho · Feb 23, 2020

Yup.. most people team up and have someone drive the route. I rode a bike when I was younger.

cracker · Feb 23, 2020

In my area of the US it is still common to get a paper delivered, but they are sure trying to push people to digital subscriptions... but they removed their paid portal to view articles, etc. so who knows what their plan is. I guess they are just trying to stay relevant. Local and national politics is so skewed so good riddance once it goes!

Paper rounds/paper routes. Do they still exist where you are?

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Nyah!

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