DO YOU KNOW where to go if you leave something in a taxi in Dublin’s fair city? The Carriage Office, right?

Actually, no. The Carriage Office stopped looking after the host of miscellaneous items we leave in taxi and hackney cabs over two years ago.

That duty was taken over by the gardai in April 2010. But two years after the handy Carriage Office services ceased, there is still no centralised, one-stop shop for all those lonely, unclaimed mobile phones, makeup bags, umbrellas and backpacks.

Punters who have been inconvenienced by losing an item of note now have to scour the city for any hope of retrieving it.

Currently, anyone wishing to trace property left in a taxi may have to contact up to five different Garda stations across the city, as well as their local station.

After inquiries were made to the Garda Press Office, TheJournal.ie was told that Irishtown, Store Street, Finglas, Tallaght and Shankill stations manage property that has been found in taxis – as well as other items handed in from the street.

When asked if there are any plans for a more convenient solution, a spokesperson said that property handed in to stations is recorded on a computer system which is accessible from any networked Garda station.

However, earlier this year it was revealed that two out of every five stations are not actually networked.

While the Carriage Office no longer carries out lost property duties, it remains open to provide for the licencing of taxis and to carry out technical exams of vehicles that are subject to Garda investigation.

The Carraige Office has always been under the remit of the Gardaí.