Bowling balls, dog food, and fishing rods: GRT reunites customers with what’s lost2 min read

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Grand River Transit staff have seen more reunions than a bowl of potato salad.

In the past two years, GRT customers have left behind more than 4,200 items on buses and trains leading to more than one reunion every day.

The list of things left behind on transit includes lots of phones and wallets, but also computer towers, golf clubs, field hockey equipment, fishing tackle boxes, fishing poles, a dehumidifier, multiple Roombas, a personalized bowling ball and once, eight kilograms of dog food.

Luckily, for those customers who may have misplaced something, GRT staff are always working to reunite people with their missing items.

Cambridge resident Gloria Cloutier has been a transit customer since 1975, and has been using GRT’s MobilityPLUS service for the past three years.

In 2022, she had medication returned to her by GRT and praised the quick response from everyone involved in getting her item back in her hands.

“It’s just great to be able to know there are folks that go the extra mile to see things are returned to whoever they belong to,” said Cloutier.

If a customer believes they have misplaced something on transit, the best thing they can do is get in touch with the Region of Waterloo’s Service First Contact Centre at 519-575-4400.

The SFCC has access to a database of lost items, which is regularly updated by GRT.

Once an item is located, the customer is directed to GRT locations at 105 King St. E. in downtown Kitchener, the Ainslie bus terminal in downtown Cambridge, or the GRT Transit Operations Centre at 250 Strasburg Rd. in Kitchener to pick it up. 

Neil Malcolm, Assistant Director of Transit Services, said it is always good to see a customer retrieve their item.

“I think it restores people’s faith in others and the community when their item is intact or their wallet, cellphone or computer is handed in,” said Malcolm. “Your whole life can be in your phone or computer these days. We take care to keep everyone’s items safe so customers can feel good about the community and public transit as well.”