Purpose
The purpose of the Lost and Found Policy and Procedures is to provide a system for receiving, holding, and distributing items lost by passengers who ride Trinity Transit buses. This policy is designed to eliminate problems associated with being custodians of lost items.
General Description
Trinity Transit is not responsible for lost or stolen items belonging to persons using our system. However, Trinity Transit does receive items which have been forgotten or lost on buses or at bus stops/shelters. It is our intent, through specific procedures, to intake lost items and return items to rightful owners or to donate useable unclaimed items to local charities or social service agencies.
Intake and Logging of Lost Items
A Bus Operator will inspect his or her bus daily for lost items. Any items found will be brought to the Department of Transportation office at the driver’s earliest convenience. Items brought to the office will be tagged and logged in the Lost & Found Log Book with the date, description of the lost item, bus number, route, and bus driver name, then placed in the Lost & Found box.
Perishable items, such as food and drink will be discarded, without being logged, as Trinity Transit does not have a location to store these items.
Illegal and/or dangerous items that are prohibited from being on Transit buses/property will be immediately turned over to the Trinity County Sheriff’s Department or the closest law enforcement. Owners can inquire there about claiming their items.
Claiming Items
If a passenger calls regarding a priority item just lost, (phone, wallet, purse, medicine, etc.), Trinity Transit will attempt to contact the bus driver to determine if the item has been found. If the item is considered non priority, the passenger will be instructed to call the following day to see if the item was turned in.
An attempt will be made to contact the owners of lost items (such as wallets or purses) that are identifiable by name, address, telephone number, etc.
In an effort to return items to rightful owners, Trinity Transit will note claimant’s name, phone number, full description of the item, date lost, location of where passenger boarded the bus and their destination; personnel will compare claimant’s details to the item and log information. If the item is sufficiently described, the person claiming the item can pick up the item at the Department of Transportation office and sign the item out in the Log Book (print and sign name, and list their telephone number). A verification by identification card is to be made of the person claiming an item having an estimated value of more than $25.00.
Trinity Transit is not responsible for items returned to someone other than the owner.
Items Not Claimed
Lost items not claimed will remain in the Trinity Transit office for a period of 30 days. Items not claimed within 30 days can be claimed by the bus driver who found it if desired. When these employees claim the item, they are to sign the Log Book. Items that are useable and not claimed by the bus driver will to be donated to a local charitable organization or social service agency for distribution and noted as such into the Log Book. Unclaimed items of no value will be discarded and so noted in the Log Book.
General
The hours for the public to claim items from Lost and Found are 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., weekdays.
All items taken in through the lost and found process are to be considered the property of Trinity Transit until claimed by the owner, given to the bus driver who turned the item in, or donated to a charitable organization or social service agency for distribution.
Trinity Transit is not responsible for items lost on buses. It is the policy of Trinity Transit to be good stewards of items taken into the lost and found system, and to be able to track each item from intake to its final distribution. Each employee whose job function is associated with the lost and found system will follow the guidelines as described in this policy.