New York City Favorite Tips by emilienoelle

Things Forgotten in Taxi Cabs

Favorite thing: Even when you're trying to pay attention, it's sometimes easy to lose track of what you're doing when you're traveling and busy. So if you happen to accidentally leave something in the back of taxi cab, don't freak out (completely anyway) there are some steps that you can take to try to get your things back. If you suddenly realize that you've left your purse/shopping purchases/baby or whatever in the back of a taxi as it pulls away try to get the cab's identification or license plate number. Then call the city's helpline (311 from any city phone) and follow the instructions for reporting a lost item in a yellow cab. If you happen to figure out that your stuff is missing long after the cab has gone on its way and don't have its ID number, you can still call. You'll just need to know where you were and the time of day when you got out of the taxi. You will have to fill out a missing item report, giving a full description of the lost item(s) and your contact information. You will be asked what borough of the city you live in. (It's Ok to give the information of your hotel if you're visiting, or ask the people at your hotel's front desk to help you do this). In addition to calling, you can also fill out a missing item report online at this link

Though it doesn't always happen, lost items are returned to people from taxis all the time. Cab drivers are trained to turn them in, so as long as the fare after you doesn't take your stuff, you're odds of getting your lost things back are better than you'd think. At least it's worth a try.

Note: You'll only be able to report missing items in this way if your lost you stuff in a yellow city taxi. Private cars or illegal taxis aren't included.