Uber Driver Returns Lost Winnings to WSOP Passenger

In my other life I sometimes come into contact with senior officers of the local council and I recently had a discussion with the guy who deals with licensing. I asked him what he thought of the driving app “Uber”, which has not yet opened for business where I live but does operate in a large city near me.

It was quite amusing to watch his reaction when I mentioned “Uber”. If you live under a stone you might not have heard of it. Uber is an app that turns the car owner into a taxi driver, matching available cars with passengers who pre-pay for a lift.

The app has flipped the taxi driving industry on its head and become a legitimate money-making opportunity for anyone who owns a car and has a few hours to spare. The officer’s reaction was one of fear and scepticism as the establishment view Uber drivers as an unwanted entrant into the taxi market. It has placed a burden on licensing departments to put procedures in place to ensure Uber drivers comply with the various rules and regulations that must be covered before they can legally carry passengers.

I feel it is only fair to cover a story where an Uber driver did the right thing and proved to be an excellent example to everyone. There is no better goodwill gesture than to return an item that has been lost or left behind. Particular praise must go to anyone who returns a large amount of money.

It is only right then for us all to give a shout out to the anonymous Las Vegas Uber driver who was assigned to drive 39 year old Jacob Brundage of Lakeland, Florida from the Venetian to the Rio. Brundage traveled with the driver and left the cab, but unfortunately he left the bag he was carrying in the Uber taxi which was filled with $7000 in cash and playing chips. His heart would have skipped a beat when it proved impossible to contact the Uber driver via the app and in desperation Brundage asked other Uber drivers for help. Eventually the driver called him and arranged to drop off the bag which still had all of the cash and chips inside it. A grateful Brundage apparently gave the driver a $200 reward as a token of his thanks for returning his money.

Uber spokeswoman Maui Cheska Orozo said afterwards that to the best of her knowledge this was the most expensive item ever left in a Uber car in Las Vegas.

As commendable as it is that the driver returned the money it would have been difficult for them to keep it. The app records which driver picks up which customer and also records the following passengers, so if the police had got involved they would have had a clear trail to search for the money and tough questions would have been asked of the driver. I do not suggest for one second that the driver was anything but honest, but the app does go to some lengths to offer protections for driver and passenger so my officer friend can be reassured!

It is not said how long it took before Brundage was reunited with his money, or if he was a high-roller to begin with, but you can only imagine the sigh of relief when it was eventually returned to him!

A quick look on the Uber forums showed me that passengers leaving items in Uber cars is a very common occurrence, which could be due to the popularity of the service with revellers returning home after a night out. Uber asks the drivers to be flexible and not to charge for a return journey to reunite a passenger with their lost item, but more than a few drivers complain that passengers promise them money to deliver their lost item to them only to let them down once they drop it off.

I therefore praise Brundage for ensuring the driver was given a generous cash reward for ensuring his money was returned as it is clear from reading around that generosity in the direction of the Uber drivers who take their time to help their customers is quite rare. If you do lose an item whilst using an Uber tax, they do have a lost and found section on their website.

This episode makes me wonder how often bags of cash are left in taxis, whether Uber or a standard provider? In Las Vegas, where the relationship between a person and their cash is unique, perhaps this happens far more often than we realize.