Dubai: Phones, glasses, wallets, bags and headphones are some of the most-commonly forgotten items by customers of ride-hailing transport, including Uber. Riders also tend to be more forgetful on Fridays and Saturdays, and at 3pm and 8am.
Some customers also left keys, backpacks, caps, passports and work reports. One rider even left a wedding ring.
The results were part of the sixth annual ‘Uber Lost & Found Index’ released on Tuesday, revealing the most surprising and common items left behind by riders over the past year.
“Each year, the Uber Lost & Found Index provides a snapshot of riders’ most commonly forgotten and most unique lost items. We also highlight which cities have been most forgetful, which times of day and days of the week riders forget items most, and of course, tips on how to get any lost items back using the Uber app,” a statement from the company said.
Lost and found in Dubai taxis
Early this month, Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) said a total of Dh1,272,800 in cash was found in Dubai taxis from January to June this year.
During the same period, RTA Call Centre (8009090) received 44,062 reports of items lost in taxis. Besides the cash, found items included 12,410 mobile phones, 2,819 electronic devices, 766 passports, and 342 laptops.
Mehailah Alzehmi, director of Customers Happiness, Corporate Administrative Support Services Sector at RTA, earlier said: “RTA honours taxi drivers for their honesty and credibility. It is a gesture of recognition of their valuable efforts to present a good image of the UAE in general and Dubai in particular to tourists, visitors, and residents using taxis in the emirate, and at the same time motivates taxi drivers to deliver more and better services to taxi riders. RTA also honours the best performing taxi franchise companies along with their outstanding drivers through the Taxi Excellence Award.”
10 most commonly forgotten items in Uber:
1) phones
2) glasses
3) wallets
4) bags/backpacks
5) headphones/earphones
6) keys
7) clothing items
8) purse/handbag
9) hats/caps
10) passports
Most forgetful days and times
Friday, followed by Saturday, Thursday, Sunday and then Wednesday. Riders are relatively attentive on Mondays and Tuesday.
The most forgetful times of day are 3pm, followed by 8am, 2pm and then 4pm
Uber tips to recover lost items:
The best way to retrieve a lost item is to call the driver. But if you lost or left your phone, you can login to your account on a computer. Here’s what to do:
1) Tap “Your Trips” and select the trip where you left something
2) Scroll down and tap “Find lost item”
3) Tap “Contact driver about a lost item”
4) Scroll down and enter the phone number you would like to be contacted at. Tap submit.
5) Your phone will ring and connect you directly with your driver’s mobile number.
6) If your driver picks up and confirms that your item has been found, coordinate a mutually convenient time and place to meet for its return to you.
7) If your driver doesn’t pick up, leave a detailed voicemail describing your item and the best way to contact you.
And if you lost your personal phone and are unable to sign into the app, you can be connected to support via webchat.
