Lyft's Amp dashboard light signals your ride's arrival
This is the end for the service's pink mustaches, too.
Unlike stealing someone's cab, jumping into the wrong Lyft or Uber isn't a jerk move, it's usually just an embarrassing mistake for whoever does it. With that in mind, Lyft wants to make getting into the ride you hailed easier with a branded dashboard light called Amp. The device looks like a Bluetooth speaker along the lines of a Beats Pill: oblong and cylindrical, sitting on a base to keep it from sliding around a driver's dashboard. But instead of playing music, the gizmo's road-facing face will light up in one of six colors (teal, orange, silver, yellow or purple) while the rear can display blocky, personalized messages.
To eliminate guesswork of whether the car that pulled up in front of your apartment is your ride or not, the color of the Amp will change to match the hue displayed in the app on your phone. In that way, it's similar to the SPOT system Uber tested in Seattle around this time last year.
The upgrade comes at a price, however, as Lyft's iconic pink moustache is officially going the way of the dodo. The company says that Amp will be in cars in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York City by New Year's Eve, and that everyone else should see it by the middle of next year.
