By Gene Lambey
Special to the AFRO
Rideshare companies such as Uber, Lyft and Alto have been reliable sources of transportation for many D.C. residents. These rideshares have been growing well throughout the city since the pandemic. However, Empower, one of the newer rideshare companies based in Mclean, Va. has been operating in D.C. illegally since 2020, according to D.C. officials.
D.C.’s Department of For-Hire Vehicles (DFHV) is warning residents about Empower and their refusal to register under the department’s laws for rideshare companies.
A cease and desist letter was sent to Empower from the DFHV on Nov. 16, 2020.
CEO of Empower, Joshua Sear, responded to the cease and desist from DFHV but refused to follow through with registering with the department. Sear claims that his refusal to register under DFHV is for “the same reason that Expedia doesn’t register with the FAA, or the OpenTable doesn’t register with the local health inspectors.”
Sear compares Empower with Expedia and OpenTable since it is a service app that recommends and offers several options in their respective platforms; however, the app features an in-person transportation service.
“Nobody can guarantee safety period. The overwhelming majority of the drivers who are using the platform are current or former drivers for Uber or Lyft. The drivers, for the most part, are the same drivers that are driving for Uber or Lyft in the same vehicles,” said Sear. “Drivers agree to subject themselves to a background check conducted one of the largest providers of background checks in the country.”
Empower is then provided with a background check from the third party service with information about the driver, according to the CEO. However, the District says the company is not in compliance.
“Rideshare companies must register with the Department of For-Hire Vehicles to keep the riding public safe. Registration ensures that drivers are properly insured in case of a crash,” DFHV shared in a statement to the AFRO. “Empower has refused to register with DFHV in order to operate in the District. Since EMPOWER refuses to register, riders have no way to know if their drivers are safe, insured, and will take them to their destination. Additionally, riders have no way to make complaints.”
DFHV has warned Empower drivers that their vehicles will be impounded if the vehicle has not been registered. The DFHV has also warned customers not to accept rides from Empower customers and stated that there “could be seriously negative consequences for the passengers.”
“Since Empower refuses to register, riders have no way to know if their drivers are safe, insured, and will take them to their destination,” reads a statement from DFHV. “Additionally, riders have no way to make complaints. DFHV impounds any vehicle from a driver who is driving illegally for EMPOWER.”
The draw for Empower drivers is that they can set the price of fares and receive 100 percent of the fare. Empower riders spend 15 to 20 percent less on their fares in comparison to Uber and Lyft which has been an attractive feature for local customers.
“I’m pretty comfortable with it. It’s a good transportation app,” said DaMarco Walker, a customer that uses Empower as a rider.
Walker mentions that when he uses the app, he feels safe with the driver. The drivers took him to his destination on time, but he said his experience depends on the age of the driver.
LaTonya Baltimore, a customer that used Empower in the past as a rider shared that she does not feel safe using Empower and questions the presence of the drivers.
“It’s pretty good, but the only thing I don’t like is they take your money and it takes forever for them to put your money back on . If you cancel a ride, it takes them five days to put the money back on,” said Baltimore.
Most rideshares like Uber and Lyft give a percentage of their earnings to the D.C. government in order to assist in public transportation funds.
“I haven’t used Empower all too much, but the couple times that I have used it, it didn’t sit right with me. I think I started using it when it first came out in D.C., so there weren’t as many drivers back then,” said customer Juan Avila.
Avila mentioned that he did not feel comfortable riding with drivers who are not meeting the District’s standards– even if Empower says they use a third party company for background checks.
Empower claimed that their software app is not for transportation like Uber and Lyft, but is mainly an entrepreneurial endeavor. Empower seems to focus more on the success of the drivers. Despite these challenges, the app is popular. In Empower’s statistics reports, the app has provided more than 4 million rides to more than 200,000 riders. Drivers on the app have made an earning of over $65 million.
Empower’s mission statement states it hopes, “to transform the ‘gig economy’ so that hard-working Americans can earn a sustainable living.”
“Empower does not currently provide insurance to drivers; however, we are working on establishing relationships with insurance carriers to help provide drivers with the most affordable options,” the company released in a statement.
“With respect to driver’s safety in particular, drivers are our customers. Riders are not our customer. Riders are their customers,” said Sear. “We want to make sure we protect our customers so we are very responsive to drivers who reach out and let us know if they have an issue with a rider.”
This article has been clarified to state that although Empower does not conduct their own background checks, they do use data and results from a third party company to make decisions regarding drivers on their app. This piece has also been corrected to clarify that Empower drivers have made over $65 million in total from the app since its inception.
