Lost On The Bus
WHERE IS MY INFLATABLE DINOSAUR COSTUME?
We have probably all left something behind on occasion, but when you leave it on a bus, its not always so easy to retrieve it. When you are the bus company though, you accumulate a lot of expected items, like bags and brollies (umbrellas for US readers), but also some quite odd ones. A British bus company has revealed the most unusual items to wind up in its lost and found in 2025 included a box of fortune cookies and an inflatable dinosaur costume (main image but not the actual item; attribution – JMacPherson from Calgary, Canada, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons).
“Essentials such as keys, mobile phones, umbrellas, purses and wallets are among the most common items, but there are also several unexpected ones, too,” Andy Morison, head of digital & customer experience at Oxford Bus Company, said. “Misplacing a personal item can be a stressful experience, so we use technology to help make it easier for people to get their belongings back. We use the end of the year to highlight the unconventional ones and remind people that we keep lost items.”
Morison said any items lost on Oxford buses can be claimed in person or sent to their owners in the mail. “We encourage people who misplace their items to use our NotLost service via the website which has helped us effectively manage lost property and minimize stress to affected passengers,” he said. Items that go unclaimed are donated to local thrift stores.
