There’s a new ridesharing app in town, right in the Big Apple, but it’s not like Poison Ivy, or rather, Dr. Pamela Isley, infiltrating a launch event attended by Batman and Robin in the 1990s flick, where she was told, “You must be new in town.”
Quite frankly, people welcomed this new ridesharing app with open arms, since it claims to offer rides 20 percent cheaper than Lyft and Uber. Yes, 20 percent cheaper.
Well, first of all, Lyft and Uber prices in New York City are way higher than those in other cities, because, well, the Big Apple is the number one city or state in the United States. Second, with traffic all over the place, you’d rather pay a high amount for a ridesharing than braving it with traditional taxis or the trains.
Apparently, the authorities in the city are tagging it… illegal. Read on for the scoop.
The name of the ridesharing app is Empower, which isn’t the best name to call a ridesharing app, as this would better pass off as a business name of an advertising firm, or a networking group, but that’s the time. And, it is drawing interest from drivers and riders across the city for how it offers lower fares for passengers, and high earnings for drivers. Too good to be true?
The local government in New York City doubts it, calling it illegal. Their main concern? "If a driver gets into a car accident, both the rider and the driver might not get insurance covering that ride because it’s not registered,” they told Ridesharing Forum.
These authorities are arguing that’s just how Lyft and Uber started, and they’ve come a long way after going through those hurdles.
The answer of the young ridesharing app? They do it differently.
They are recruiting drivers already licensed and vetted by the authorities through, get this, Uber and Lyft. On its official website, Empower says its business model has it in such a way that drivers keep all of the fare revenue and set their own prices. In exchange, drivers only pay a meager subscription fee to the driver’s app.
See? Their attack is on the price, which would really weaken consumers to their knees, pulling them to try it. It’s monkey-business.
The critics are swift enough to spot.
They pointed out, “Empower’s using a bunch of fancy words to basically say that they don’t want to be under rules and regulations, and it’s only the drivers that should be under rules and regulations. We have seen that play out before, and every time the drivers end up earning poverty wages, and they’re left with all of the risks. We don’t want to go back to those days.”
Not that brand-new ridesharing apps cannot introduce themselves to the market. Of course, not. Even Uber started out small.
Empower defended themselves, saying, “Every driver using Empower software to work for themselves in New York is a TLC licensed driver using a TLC licensed vehicle. We look forward to working with the institutions to ensure TLC licensed drivers have the same civil rights as all other licensed professionals in New York and that New Yorkers have access to affordable and safe transportation.”
Perhaps it’s best to get coupons, instead for the 20 percent discount? The newly-elected Democrat New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, or his staff, are yet to release their official statements.