General FAQ

Amber was founded in March, 2016 in the Netherlands. 

Amber gets its name from the origins of electricity. In Greek, the words for “amber” and “electricity” are one and the same: “elektron”. The Greeks were the first to discover (static) electricity, when they rubbed fur against a piece of amber (hardened tree sap). 

In designing the Amber logo, we started from the beginning, by thinking about the concepts of electricity and mobility. We took the letters “A” and “M” (for “Amber” and “Mobility”) and combined them using a design that evokes a lightning bolt, a symbol for electricity. The overall design of the logo bears a resemblance to letters of the ancient Greek alphabet, the original discoverers of electricity.  

Amber plans to expand in the Netherlands, first to Tilburg, Utrecht, Rotterdam, and Amsterdam, and then other cities in 2018. We also plan to simultaneously expand to other countries, including the U.S., Belgium, Denmark, the Middle East, and Asia. Our U.S. expansion is planned to start in Q1 2018.

Amber guarantees its users on-demand access to mobility. This means that if you’re an Amber user and you’re within range of one of the Amber hubs, you’re guaranteed access to a car when you need one. It’s never happened before, but we’d even order you a taxi if needed.

In order to guarantee that a car will be available for users when they need it, we use a predictive algorithm that uses artificial intelligence techniques to predict when and where trips will occur in the future. By combining both historic and real-time data (including a variety of external factors), we can more easily match supply and demand.

Amber currently uses the BMW i3, a fully-electric 4-seater hatchback. However, we do not have an exclusive contract with any particular automotive manufacturer, which will allow us to offer other electric car options in the future.

The battery range of the car is between 200 and 240 kilometers, depending on the driving style. The top speed of the car is 150 km/h.

Electric driving is somewhat different than driving in a conventional fuel-powered car. Other than the fact that users have to charge the cars at an electric charging station, “regenerative braking” is usually the most apparent difference. Releasing the accelerator in an electric car makes the car automatically brake, which then charges the battery. This means that in most situations, you won’t have to use the brake pedal.

That’s correct, we are currently working with various development partners to equip our BMW i3’s with self driving technology. We aim to have a self-driving car on the roads in Eindhoven by mid-2018. Our self-driving cars will be operating at SAE level 4 automation, and will only operate when no passengers are in the car. The cars will transport themselves from location to location, starting by making trips at night, at slow speeds, and using bus lanes. We plan to first test these cars in a controlled environment and then gradually implement them in our fleet.

The Amber One is our car that we plan to build and use in our platform in the future. The car is designed specifically to be shared, meaning it will be lightweight, long-range, and durable, with a lifespan of 1.5 million kilometers and a modular, customizable design.

Cars today aren’t designed to be shared; they’re designed to be owned. Current cars don’t hold up very well under constant daily use. If transportation companies don’t accept a bus with a lifespan of only 250,000 kilometers, why do car owners accept it for their cars? Practically speaking for Amber, by using our own car, we will be able to simplify our fleet management and offer our service to customers for a much more competitive price.