Oh No! You Left Your Laptop On A NYCT Bus — Now What?

We are all familiar with that sense of dread. It strikes the moment you hop out of a cab, or jump off an MTA bus, or dash out of a subway car, and then realize in horror that you are watching your expensive electronic device — your lifeline — speeding away.

That’s exactly what happened to me yesterday morning after I rode the B8 from Bensonhurst to Corner Media’s Ditmas Park office. The minute those bus doors slammed, I knew my beloved 1-year-old Macbook Air, which included a trove of personal photos and work files, was headed straight for Kings Plaza Shopping Center.

What followed was a frantic hour at the office. My subway savvy colleague Heather Chin (editor of Fort Greene Focus) quickly tweeted my situation at the NYCT Buses Twitter account, and using the using the Bus Time tracking website, we located my bus just as it was arriving at its destination.

A brief Google search revealed that my situation is not all that uncommon, and that many, many lost items wind up in the NYCT’s Lost & Found unit under Penn Station. As of 9pm Thursday night, 955 computers and 37,855 cellphones found on subways and buses were being stored there, according the agency’s database of unclaimed items, which is updated hourly. Also unclaimed are 71 trumpets, 11 wheelchairs, 266 stuffed animals, 70 answering machines, seven TVs, 489 diaries, and 21 death certificates.

These figures somewhat restored my faith in humanity. Perhaps some kind old woman would turn the bag carrying my laptop in to the bus driver and I could claim it the next day.

The NYCT Buses’s Twitter account — apparently manned by a real live person named JP — told us it would try to page the last two drivers that left from Kings Plaza. Alas, neither one had seen the tote. JP messaged Heather privately and suggested we call the bus depot later in the day.

I share this experience with you, dear readers, as a cautionary tale. Common wisdom is to call 511 during a public transit related crisis, but to skip that maddening automated system — which will only further exacerbate to your skyrocketing blood pressure levels —  you can try hitting up the NYCT’s Twitter account.

A few more tips about what you should do immediately after misplacing your belongings on a subway, bus, or cab:

Subway

Talk to a representative in the station booth nearest the location where you believe you lost your property. If someone turns in a lost item, it remains at the booth until it is transferred to the Lost and Found.

Bus

1. As your bus is speeding away, take down the bus number, which can be found beside the bus route.

2. Tweet at NYCT Buses or call 511, and give them your bus number or route number.

3. The agent should provide the nearest depot phone number. Check back with the depot the following day to see if the driver left your belongings there after his or her shift.

Yellow Cab

If you know your cab’s license or medallion number, you’re in luck. If not, fill out this form and hope for the best.

Uber

Type your phone number in here, and Uber will immediately call your phone and connect you to your driver.

If none of those strategies work. File a claim with the Lost & Found as soon as possible. In the case of NYCT, it may take up to 10 days for objects to make their way down the pipeline to the agency’s massive storage unit of unclaimed belongings, but you can track it daily using this link or call (212) 712-4500. Valid identification is required to claim your property.

Finally, as a preventative measure, consider investing in free or premium-level Find my iPhone and Where’s My Droid apps, which offer all sorts of nifty features, like phone tracking, sirens, and taking a snapshot of the person in possession of the device. Macbook owners can activate the “Find my Mac” feature in their system preferences.

Editor’s note: If anyone has seen a white tote bag with a picture of a zebra on it and a Macbook inside, perhaps on a B8 bus headed for Kings Plaza, please email editor@bensonhurstbean.com. I kind of need it back.