Holiday Crowds Leave Luggage In Buses, Trains

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 14, Issue 89, 23 January 1950, Page 5

Holiday Crowds Leave Luggage In Buses , Trains

Each holiday season, officials of the transport services are faced with the problem of what to do with the many and varied articles left in the wake of the travelling public. Most of the things left behind are small—gloves and spectacles—which are put down and forgotten easily.

Many - ' are never claimed. Either their value is so small' that they are not worth worrying about, or the owners apparently cannot remember where they were left. Returning Luggage

Those concerned with tracing and returning lost luggage have evolved something in the nature of a detective. service, particularly the Railways, which at Christmas and New Year handles a terrific amount of left goods. Some of the methods used are amazing and the results achieved in many cases are remarkable.

Train passengers to the Bay of Plenty appear to have been most forgetful and a large volume of articles is recovered after the arrival of each train. These comprise coats, hats, purses, umbrellas and a few suitcases.

However, much- of the luggage is usually claimed within a short time. Very Light The amount of lost luggage handled by the Road Services depot at Whakatane has been very light, considering the number of passengers. Most of the articles left have been very small and were usually claimed very soon after by their owners. The items left behind by travellers consisted almost solely of things which they had taken inside the vehicles and left there.