Top Forgetful Cities: Uber Lost and Found Index

With Mercury in retrograde, making people more forgetful than ever, Uber today released the 2024 edition of its Lost and Found Index, a snapshot of the most frequently forgotten items, the most forgetful cities, as well as the days of the week and times of the year when Uber riders tend to be most forgetful.

Delhi bagged the title of the most forgetful city in the country for the second year in the running, even as Mumbai retained its second spot. Bangalore reclaimed its 3rd place from Hyderabad, which slipped to 4th as residents became more watchful about their belongings. Pune rounded up the top 5 most forgetful cities in the country. Backed by insights and data, Uber’s Lost and Found Index aims to educate riders in a fun yet informative manner about in-app options available to them at the tap of a button, in case they lose or forget something in their Uber during their trip.

Over the last year, objects including phones, bags, wallets and clothing top the list of items left in Ubers across India, followed by utility items such water bottles, keys, and accessories such as spectacles and jewelry. Indians also forgot unique things such as a Ukulele instrument, a coin collection, prasad and hair trimmer. Riders also left behind important documents such as passports, bank and business papers in their Ubers. 

Commenting on the Index, Nitish Bhushan, Head of Central Operations, said, “We’ve all been riders, and have had that moment where we suddenly realised we left behind a precious item or even a cherished belonging in a cab. With Uber, you have the option to attempt retrieving the lost item by simply following a few steps in the app. We understand the trust riders put in us each time they take an Uber ride, and we felt the time was opportune to provide a quick refresher course on how to retrieve lost items.”

Connecting the trends:

1. People are most likely to forget their belongings in an Uber on Saturdays
2. People tend to forget blue coloured items the most in Ubers, followed by red and pink
3. Evenings made people most forgetful, with most items left behind around 7PM
4. Riders with Apple devices were most forgetful during the year gone by
5. People forgot most items in Ubers last year during the festive days around Diwali

Below is the snapshot of insights from Uber Lost and Found Index India 2023:

Top 10 Most Commonly Forgotten Items

1. Phone
2. Laptop bags
3. Clothing
4. Keys
5. Headphones
6. Wallet
7. Spectacles/sunglasses
8. Water Bottle
9. Jewelry
10. Watch

Top 5 Most ‘Forgetful’ Cities

1. Delhi
2. Mumbai
3. Bangalore
4. Hyderabad
5. Pune 

Top 3 Most Forgetful Days of the Year

1. Nov 10
2. Nov 9
3. Nov 11

Top 3 Most Forgetful Days of the Week: The Weekend

1. Saturday
2. Friday
3. Sunday

The Most Forgetful Time of the Day for Indians: Evenings

1. 7 pm
2. 8 pm
3. 6 pm

Top 3 Colours of Forgotten Items

1. Blue
2. Red
3. Pink

Top 3 Phone Brands Left in Ubers

1. Apple
2. Samsung
3. Redmi

Top 5 Most Unique Lost Items

1. Ukulele instrument
2. Coin collection
3. Gate valve
4. Cornflakes
5. Prasad

Here’s a quick guide for riders looking for “Lost Items”:

●        Tap on “Menu” icon

●        Tap “Your Trips” and select the trip where you left something

●        Tap “Report an issue with this trip”

●        Tap “I lost an item”

●        Tap “Contact my driver about a lost item”

●        Scroll down and enter the phone number you would like to be contacted at. Tap submit

●        If you lost your phone, enter a friend’s phone number instead

●        Your phone will ring and connect you directly with your driver’s mobile number.

●        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

●        If you are unable to connect with the driver, use ‘in-app support’ to report the loss, and Uber Support Team will step in to help you

 Also Read: How India Ubered in 2023 - A Year in Rear View