Many organizations have a Lost & Found box tucked under the front desk. With more than 260,000 customers riding Metro Transit buses and trains each weekday, the volume and assortment of items left behind requires a more advanced organization system.
In 2013, Metro Transit's Customer Relations Department received, tagged and documented more than 22,000 lost items.
When possible, staff use clues from the forgotten objects to help identify the owner and reunite them with their property. Items that are not immediately claimed are held for up to two weeks; because of space limitations, bicycles are kept for one week.
In 2013, more than 22 percent of lost items were returned to their owner. Items such as coats, luggage, umbrellas, matching gloves, hats and bicycles that are not claimed are donated to charity. Books that are stamped by a specific school or library are returned there. Mobile phones are given to ReCellular, a company that recycles phones. All items that cannot be reused or recycled are discarded and all personal information is shredded.
The most commonly misplaced items are gloves, mobile phones, wallets, umbrellas, backpacks and bicycles. Some of the more unusual items that have been left on a bus or train include a leaf blower, kiddie pool, microwave and even a box containing a skull (later claimed by an anatomy professor).
Lost & Found At a Glance
What do I do if I lose something on a bus or train?
If you forget something on the bus or train contact Customer Relations at 612-373-3333 and provide details about the trip you were on. If we have the item, it can be claimed from our Customer Relations Department, at 570 6th Avenue North, Minneapolis. Customer Relations is open between 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Items can also be arranged for pick-up at one of Metro Transit’s Service Centers, located in downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul.
> Plan a trip to Lost & Found
> See a map of Metro Transit Lost & Found
What do I do if I find something on the bus or train?
If an item is found on a bus, please turn it into the bus operator so they can document the item and turn it in at the end of their shift. Since light-rail operators work in a closed area, customers who find an item on a train are asked to drop it off at a Metro Transit Service Center or give it to a bus driver. Just let the driver know where the item was found to help us reunite the object with the owner. On Northstar trains, please give the item to the conductor.
> Star Tribune: Missing a glove, a phone, even a bike? Riders asked to contact Metro Transit
> WCCO: Looking Inside the Metro Transit Lost & Found Hall of Fame
> Star Tribune: Rescuing a Stranded Bike
Please note: Metro Transit is not liable for damage to any personal items, such as bicycles, computers and cell phones, etc., except if Metro Transit is found to be negligent or at fault in an accident. Theft and/or damage to personal items, injury while loading and unloading a bicycle, acts by a third party and all other incidents are solely the responsibility of the customer and not Metro Transit.