Uber has been saviour to many on nights out. You've either missed your last train or fancy the comfort of your own cab. Simply open the app, request an Uber and you're away, what could be simpler?

• What is Uber and how does it work?

Well sometimes it's not always that simple, because it's not always easy to locate your cab when it turns up. Uber is now putting that to bed with the introduction of Beacon. Uber taxis, initially in four cities: Denver, Nashville, Miami and Newcastle, will now have a light inside the windscreen that will shine a colour that you can set from within the app. When the taxi arrives, you can spot your chosen colour and you'll be in the back of the cab quicker than before.

Another small but useful feature that has also been added is the colour of your cab. The app already tells you what car is on its way, the number plate and a photo of your driver. But now it will also tell you what colour the car is, just in case there's more than one of the same model turn up at the same time for different people.

The updates have been made just in time for the Christmas party season, so Uber probably knows that people are going to be celebrating more, which could decrease their level of vision at the end of the night.

Uber has also made some small updates to the app, including being able to set favourite places to quickly enter as destinations, schedule trips, ideal for later in the night or early morning and share your journey in real time so your friends can see how far away from the party you are.

The features are rolling out from today on a trail basis, so be sure to look out for the app update.