Lorraine Johnson was having a hectic day a few weeks ago.

Among other things, she was in the midst of buying a new condo with a lot of details to be sorted out.

She was preoccupied with it all. So, perhaps it was no surprise that the Coquitlam woman forgot something on the bus as she was heading to the airport to catch a flight to Qualicum for the weekend.

After leaving Coquitlam, she caught a connecting bus at Metrotown to Richmond.

But when she got off the bus in Richmond, she had her carry-on bag with her but the tote bag she usually looped around the handle was gone.

“I looked at the suitcase, and no tote bag and the bus was pulling away and I thought… oh no… and not being able to do anything about it,” Lorraine said.

The tote had a number of things of importance, most notably her iPad. Lorraine walked up to where another bus was waiting to ask for help, and spoke to Nigel Clare.

“He talked me off the cliff,” she says with a laugh. “I didn’t know the specific bus number, but I told him the route number and the time we left Metrotown. He took my number and my name. He also gave me a transfer and underlined the Lost & Found number on the back.”

She took a cab to the airport because she was running late and when she arrived at the South Terminal she got a phone call from a Transit Supervisor, saying “we have your bag.”

“I said ‘I’m considering having a heart attack,’” Lorraine recalls. “He said ‘please don’t do that!’”

She was even more surprised when he said he’d be able to bring the bag out to her personally. Her flight was leaving soon and she was anxious he wouldn’t make it in time.

But shortly after, he arrived with the bag. Lorraine showed him her ID and described in a little more detail what was in the bag – including the yogurt, cheese stick and apple – before he handed it over.

Lorraine says she’s quick to offer feedback, including when service isn’t up to standard. However, in this case, she felt everyone from the bus driver to the Lost & Found staff to the Transit Supervisor offered service that was “over and above expectations.”

“I had dinner with six friends that night and told them ‘I have a great story to share!’”

And we appreciate Lorraine sharing her story with us.

Lose something on transit? Fear not!
Contact the Lost Property Office to see if your item has been collected.

Author: Chris Bryan