Ride-sharing companies like Uber make it very easy to identify the car that’s coming to pick you up. The app shows you the driver’s name, the car’s color, and its registration number but it’s still not uncommon for there to be a mix-up, particularly when it’s dark outside. To eliminate car mix-ups, Uber has introduced Beacon today, it’s a new light that simply attaches to a driver’s windscreen and displays a color that the user specifies in the app. This enables them to know at a glance which car is supposed to be picking them up.
Uber has formally introduced Beacon today but it’s only in trial stage at this point in time. Riders in Denver, Miami, and Nashville in the United States as well as those in Newcastle, the United Kingdom will start seeing cars with Beacons this week.
It’s pretty easy to select a color for the Beacon. When the driver starting making their way to pick up the rider, they get the option to choose a color for the Beacon. Uber says that this feature will help riders “quickly identify a booked vehicle at night, helping to make pickups easier during busy times and areas.”
Uber says that it’s going to work with drivers to make sure that Beacons are widely available in supported markets ahead of New Year’s Eve, which is one of the busiest nights for the service. The company will expand Beacons to other markets in 2017.
Filed in . Read more about Uber. Source: newsroom.uber