Overview
- Uber published its 10th annual Lost & Found Index on Tuesday, June 2, summarizing items left in rides over the previous 12 months.
- The company said more than 1 million phones were reported missing in that period and listed phones, wallets, luggage, keys and headphones as the most common losses.
- Uber named New York the most forgetful U.S. city and identified Sundays and July 17 as peak times for lost items, while also publishing a list of 50 unusual finds such as dentures, an ankle monitor, live fish and a 75‑gallon tank.
- To speed recoveries, Uber has added an in-app flow that lets riders report lost items, get driver confirmation, and 'request a return trip' with the original driver in California, Texas, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., Georgia, Minnesota and Massachusetts with plans to expand nationwide by year-end.
- The index doubles as a decade-long snapshot of trends and operations, noting tens of millions of lost items globally, thousands left in robotaxis that can be returned via a $15 Courier delivery or depot pickup, and the likely effect that a formal return workflow will reduce ad-hoc driver-rider arrangements and shift some returns into Uber’s paid services.