Miami: Uber’s Most Forgetful City of 2024?
Miami: Uber’s Most Forgetful City of 2024?
For the eighth year in a row, Uber has released its annual Lost & Found Index, highlighting the most commonly forgotten items and the cities with the most absent-minded riders. This year, Miami emerged as the most forgetful city, moving up from sixth place last year.
The Top 10 Forgetful Cities
According to Uber’s data, these are the top 10 most forgetful cities of 2024 based on the number of lost item reports:
- Miami
- Los Angeles
- Atlanta
- Houston
- Dallas
- Orlando
- Phoenix
- Tampa Bay
- Denver
- Austin
Florida dominated the top of the list, with Miami, Orlando, and Tampa Bay all in the top 10. Southern cities like Atlanta and Houston also made strong showings, along with major west coast cities like Los Angeles and Phoenix.
Can Miami hold onto the top spot for another year running? 22bet.com puts the odds at 2/1 with a 50% chance.
Most Frequently Forgotten Items
Uber compiled data on the most commonly lost and left behind items in 2024. Here are the top 10:
- Clothing
- Luggage
- Headphones
- Wallet
- Jewelry
- Phone
- Camera
- Tablet or book
- Laptop
- Vape
Basic personal items like phones, wallets, and clothes topped the list. Small electronics like headphones, cameras, and tablets were also frequently left behind.
Oddest Lost Items
While those common forgettable items are understandable, Uber riders left some truly bizarre things behind in 2024:
- Hair toupee
- Hot sauce and breathalyzer
- Live pet turtle
- Police-grade handcuffs
- Jar of oysters
- Candle that says “See you in court”
- Contraceptive Plan B and massager
- Mini skeleton prop
- Custom blanket with rider’s dog
- Fake tooth
Apparently, some riders treat Ubers like their own personal storage units! Drivers have found everything from food items to live animals left behind.
When People Are Most Forgetful
Uber’s data also revealed insights on when people are most likely to leave items behind:
- January 21 was the most forgetful day of 2024
- 9pm and 10pm were the most popular hours for losing items
- Mondays: luggage was most often left behind
- Tuesdays: headphones were most often left behind
- Wednesdays: wallets were most often left behind
- Thursdays: jewelry was most often left behind
- Fridays: phones were most often left behind
- Saturdays: vapes were most often left behind
- Sundays: clothing was most often left behind
Late weekend nights after going out seem to be prime time for absent-minded riders. Mondays also see many travelers leaving luggage behind.
Other Notable Trends
Beyond the basics, Uber identified some other amusing trends:
- Red was the most popular color of lost item
- Many healing crystals were left behind
- Mini Cooper owners lost the most car keys
- Numerous Wi-Fi hotspots were left behind
- Riders reported leaving behind intangibles like “dignity” and “credibility”
- Skateboards were a commonly forgotten item
So, if you lose your red healing crystal on the way to your Mini Cooper, you’ll be in good company this year!
Tips for Retrieving Lost Items
If you leave something behind in an Uber, here are tips for getting it back:
- Call the driver immediately
- Log into Uber on another device if you lost your phone
- Tap “Find Lost Item” in the app and contact the driver
- Leave a detailed voicemail if the driver doesn’t answer
- Arrange a mutually convenient meetup for item return
Hopefully these tips will help absent-minded Miami riders reunite with their lost goods in 2024! Just try not to forget your phone when making that important recovery call.