An inflatable dinosaur costume, a bag of rubber ducks and a box of fortune cookies were among the more unusual items left behind on Oxford’s buses last year, according to figures released by Oxford Bus Company.
Customer services staff recorded a total of 4,387 misplaced items across the network in 2025. Of those, 1,013 were successfully reunited with their owners, meaning almost a quarter (23 per cent) of all lost property made its way home.
While everyday essentials such as keys, mobile phones, umbrellas, purses and wallets topped the list of commonly forgotten belongings, the annual tally also included a host of eyebrow-raising discoveries.
Among them were a baby bonsai tree, a potato decorated with googly eyes, a 10kg bag of rice, a jar of pickled onions and a yoga mat emblazoned with inspirational quotes. Other finds ranged from a bicycle tyre and several toy Nerf guns to a box of rubber ducks.
Andy Morison, Head of Digital & Customer Experience at Oxford Bus Company, said forgotten items are a weekly occurrence across buses and coaches.
“Each week, scores of items are left on our buses and coaches,” he said. “Essentials such as keys, mobile phones, umbrellas, purses and wallets are among the most common items, but there are also several unexpected ones too.
“Misplacing a personal item can be a stressful experience, so we use technology to help make it easier for people to get their belongings back.”
Oxford Bus Company became the first bus operator in the UK to adopt the NotLost platform in 2019, using digital technology to streamline lost property management. Items are logged quickly and matched to owners using image recognition and advanced search tools, allowing passengers to reclaim belongings either in person or by post.
Morison added: “We use the end of the year to highlight the unconventional ones and remind people that we keep lost items. Regardless of what people forget to pick up, all lost items are stored by our team and can be collected either in-person or delivered by post.”
Passengers reclaiming items are charged a £1 administration and storage fee, with unrecovered items later donated to local charities or disposed of responsibly.
Previous years have produced similarly memorable finds, including a bar stool, a Donald Trump toilet roll, skis, a wet floor sign and a suitcase filled with retro adult magazines, proving that Oxford’s buses continue to double as an unexpected lost-and-found museum.
