Empower, a ride reservation service, has been hounded by Washington, D.C., regulators since it began its operations in 2020. The D.C. Attorney General has threatened to request that Empower CEO Joshua Sear be arrested for civil contempt if he refuses to comply with the Department of For-Hire Vehicles (DFHV) cease and desist order by Wednesday.* Mayor Muriel Bowser has the power to direct the DFHV to rescind its order, which would allow Empower to continue operating in the city.
Sear founded Empower in 2019, not as a transportation company but as a software company that serves independent professional drivers. Empower differs from the flagship ride-share services in multiple ways. Unlike Uber and Lyft, drivers who use Empower do not receive 1099 forms—they are not contractors, but customers, according to the company.
The company also does not collect a percentage of every fare, nor does it set them; its drivers set their own rates by adjusting their minimum and base fares, per minute, per mile, and surge prices as they see fit. They then pay Empower a flat monthly fee of $349.99 for access to the D.C. Monthly Platinum plan, which "provides drivers with unlimited access to Empower's software and support services." Empower's suggested rates are "set so that drivers make 20% - 25% more on average than they would if they were driving on behalf of Uber/Lyft [and] riders also save 15-20% on average."
