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For the past 10 years, Uber\u2019s annual Lost & Found Index has provided a rather quirky anthropological snapshot of its riders \u2014 and even a few insights into society. The annual catalogue of millions of forgotten items ranges from mundane modern-day tools such as smartphones and laptops, to more eyebrow-raising objects like live fish, an ankle monitor, a toboggan, a package of live butterflies, and a single Louboutin shoe.<\/p>\n
This year, Uber is using the report to highlight the same old problem of lost items with a new twist: robotaxis. Thousands of items (it\u2019s a bit too new for millions) were left behind in robotaxis on Uber\u2019s ride-hailing network in the past year, the company said Tuesday. There were the usual suspects of phones, keys, wallets, passports, and headphones, along with a few items that strayed into the who-is-this-rider category: a set of dentures, an \u201cI Heart Hot Dads\u201d bag, and a blue hat that reads \u201cEmotional Support Human.\u201d <\/p>\n
Beyond this entertaining list lies a business opportunity, if a minor one. Even in a future of robot taxis, someone still has to return the things passengers leave behind.<\/p>\n
Uber has spent the past several years locking up dozens of partnerships with autonomous vehicle (AV) technology companies. But it really wasn\u2019t until March 2025, when the \u201cWaymo on Uber\u201d robotaxi service launched in Austin, that the commercial wheels on its AV business started turning. Since then, Uber and Waymo have also started a robotaxi service in Atlanta. Uber has added other AV companies to its app in the past year, including Motional in Las Vegas and Avride in Dallas, although these still have human safety operators behind the wheel.<\/p>\n
That Uber has already logged thousands of lost items in just 12 months gives some sense of just how many robotaxi rides have been completed on its app. The underlying message here is that Uber\u2019s existing network is already set up to reunite riders with their lost items, including a 15-pound yo-yo, one large black marble duck, a Squishmallow, and a Charli XCX poster.<\/p>\n
When an Uber rider forgets belongings in a robotaxi, the process for recovering them is similar to any other Uber ride: open the app, click the activity tab, select the trip during which the item was lost, and contact customer support. Riders are then able to message, chat, or call a support agent. If the item is located, they have two options: pay $15 for an Uber Courier driver to provide same-day local delivery, or pick up the belonging in person from an AV depot, where the vehicles are stored and serviced.<\/p>\n
Uber Courier is a rebrand of Uber Connect, which launched in 2020 and allowed users to send packages and personal items between local addresses. But Uber says there is more to its robotaxi support network than repurposing existing services.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith tens of millions of lost items reported on Uber each year, we\u2019ve spent the last decade building systems that help riders quickly and seamlessly reunite with their belongings,\u201d Amy Satrom, global head of autonomous support at Uber, said in a statement. \u201cAs autonomous rides continue to scale on Uber, we\u2019re bringing that same expertise to AVs \u2014 combining our fleet operations, support teams, and hybrid network to make getting a lost item back simple, even when there\u2019s no driver behind the wheel.\u201d<\/p>\n
In February, the company announced Uber Autonomous Solutions<\/a>, a new business division that conveys its bigger ambitions around driverless tech. The division provides companies with a suite of services that handle all the tasks associated with operating a robotaxi, self-driving truck, or sidewalk delivery robot business, including software and support services. <\/p>\n And Uber clearly means to make AVs a major revenue driver. The company plans to offer robotaxi rides through its app in as many as 15 cities globally by the end of the year and has said it intends to be the largest facilitator of AV trips in the world by 2029.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission<\/a>. This doesn\u2019t affect our editorial independence.<\/em><\/p>\n