TAXI LOST PROPERTY: Brit’s are four times LESS likely to leave objects in a cab than Germans
Updated: Oct 29, 2022
Where is my phone again? And where's my wedding dress...? In the fast-paced world where people are on the move from one place to the other, it’s easy to leave things behind if you're travelling comfortably in a black cab or private hire vehicle.
Since the beginning of 2022, FREE NOW users have forgotten over 23,000 items during their trips. The European Mobility ‘Super App’ FREE NOW has evaluated dozens of millions of completed ride-hailing trips in the UK and Europe to reveal the most “forgetful” countries and cities, surprising and most popular items left behind, and recent lost & found trends.
A comparison between countries reveals that Brits are four times LESS likely to forget something in the driver's car than Germans, which despite being very organised and meticulous, lead the table of the most forgetful, closely followed by the Spanish and Italians.
People are more likely to forget their items in European cities on Mondays
A closer look at the FREE NOW lost & found data reveals that London is not among the most forgetful cities, which include Marseille (FR), Gijón (SP), Toulouse (FR), Vienna (AT) and Cannes (FR). Interestingly, passengers are most likely to leave their items behind on weekends between 11 am and 2 pm and at the start of the week on a Monday at 11 am.
Top 10 most forgotten and unusual items left behind
FREE NOW data reveals that the most forgotten items are mobile phones, wallets, handbags or purses, jackets, glasses, headsets, suitcases, jewels, umbrellas or bags with groceries. However, the list of unusual forgotten objects includes items as diverse and original as FREE NOW’s user base, including a wedding dress, three live lizards and an assortment of sex toys, a diamond necklace, a wok, an urn with the relative's ashes or even a grandmother... yes, a real person.
Despite a summer high, FREE NOW users are increasingly less forgetful.
During the 2022 summer travel season, particularly in July, people were a little more forgetful than usual, probably because they were on holiday or in unusual surroundings. However, despite the sharp rise in tour volume across the UK and Europe, a declining trend can be seen when it comes to forgetting objects in the driver’s cars, with users, fortunately, forgetting fewer and fewer items on a percentage basis.
Most lost items are returned to their owners, as lost items can be quickly reported via the FREE NOW app and the newly launched Answer Bot, which instantly answers all types of questions. In addition, FREE NOW’s customer support helps find the missing item.
