Things people have lost in Grab rides: bonsai plants, wigs, live crabs

Two years ago, a passenger in Vietnam contacted Grab Support to report that he had left behind a bag of three live snakes. When the bag was returned to the passenger, there were only two snakes in it. 

Our team reached out to the driver-partner and advised him to send his car for a thorough check but the third snake was never found. The passenger was reminded that he was not allowed to bring live animals on board without the driver’s consent. 

From live animals to Pokéballs, passengers leave all sorts of things behind. We spoke to Grab Support teams around the region to find out more about the most common (and sometimes odd) things being reported.

Mobile phones, wallets, water bottles, earphones and bags topped the list of the most commonly forgotten items across the region. 

People tend to report higher incidence rates before and after public holidays as well as on weekends, according to Grab Support staff. 

Users in Singapore were among the most forgetful. In Singapore, 6,374 items were left behind by passengers last year. Some 2,700 of these items made their way back to their owners.

In the Philippines, there were 1,670 items brought down to the driver’s centre, of which 684 were collected by their owners. In Malaysia, 2,421 items were logged as left behind by passengers and 800 were claimed.

The lost and found policy for Grab differs across the region. But items are generally stored for a period of time before they are donated to charity. Meanwhile, personal and security items will be handed over to the police if they are not claimed. 

Here’s a list of some of the most common and strangest items found in recent years.