Losing Items on the MTA: A Concern for Riders

If you’ve ever lost something valuable on the MTA subway or bus, well, good luck with that.

An audit by the MTA inspector’s office recently revealed that in early 2024, transport workers were allowed to keep 24 items reported as “lost.” Months later, it was discovered that many didn’t make it to the Lost Property Unit (LPU).

The report, released by MTA Inspector General Daniel Cort, noted, “The fact that many of the ‘discovered’ items in OIG did not reach the LPU.”

On a different note, tests conducted by Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) showed that the inspector general only managed to recover 47% of the 19 lost items handed over to LIRR staff.

“Our field tests have shown significant gaps in loss and recovery systems, especially within NYC transits,” Cort remarked.

“Riders should trust that lost property is managed responsibly, and MTA agencies ought to have efficient protocols in place for returning those items.” Unfortunately, it seems that many items lost, by either bus or subway riders, have mysteriously vanished due to bureaucratic inefficiencies.

Last year, the MTA’s Lost Property Unit in New York City received over 68,000 items. In turn, over 31,500 claims were filed by customers seeking the return of their belongings.

Cort’s office emphasized that the investigation highlighted clear failings in these loss systems, notably in NYC transit.

The audit indicated that subway and bus workers often failed to properly document lost items or turn them over to the lost units. Many items were not held at station booths or bus depots for any significant periods.

Furthermore, the process of matching customer claims to items in the Lost and Found database is cumbersome, contributing to a backlog.

When the inspector general submitted claims for 24 lost items, only four made it to the lost property unit; the other 20 were never recorded in the database and consequently couldn’t be retrieved.

As the report noted, “Failure typically occurred at the outset of the lost and found process. Items meant to be received and processed may have instead been discarded or kept by employees at subway and bus locations.”

“This raises significant integrity issues,” the audit stressed.

Quite interestingly, the inspector general managed to retrieve just one of those 24 items—a keychain with an email address on it.

In response, MTA’s NYC Transit Division has largely agreed to nine recommendations aimed at improving the storage, recordkeeping, and retrieval processes for lost items.

“New York City Transit is focused on providing the best customer experience, including the responsible storage of lost items. All transit employees are expected to follow correct protocols for finding, handling, and storing lost items while on duty,” they stated.

LIRR has also accepted the inspector’s suggestions, with an MTA spokesperson adding, “We will make changes to how lost items are tracked, stored, and returned to customers.”