Lyft replaces famous mustache with glowing Amp on dashboards

Lyft’s distinctive pink mustache, which started as a furry appendage to drivers’ front grilles and evolved into a glowing hunk of pink plastic called the glowstache, isn’t long for this world.

[...] the San Francisco ride-hailing company is rolling out Amp, an illuminated device perched on the dashboard that will change colors to help drivers and passengers find each other, and will welcome passengers with a cheery text message like “Hello Sarah.”

“This device represents a modern, sophisticated image for Lyft,” said Tali Rapaport, Lyft’s vice president of product, at a presentation on Monday.

An updated app will show passengers their personalized Amp color for each ride.

Like audience members at a rock concert, they can hold up phones displaying their assigned color as a beacon to help drivers find them.



Besides greeting passengers, Amp can also display text messages such as “Go Giants” or “Happy New Year,” and down the road could help hearing-impaired drivers communicate with passengers, although, at least at first, Lyft rather than drivers will control Amp’s display.

A year ago it started tests in Seattle of a color-coded device, called Spot, for drivers and passengers to connect.

Lyft is also launching new TV spots taking humorous aim at archrival Uber as part of a brand campaign called “Ride on the bright side.”