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Unlicensed e-hail app defies NYC taxi rules, offers cheaper rides than Uber and Lyft
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Published Feb 11, 2026
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Ramsey Khalifeh / Gothamist
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Published Feb 11, 2026
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An illegal ride-hailing app keeps chipping away at Uber and Lyft’s chokehold on New York City’s for-hire vehicle industry.
The company, called Empower, markets itself as a pro-worker platform where drivers pay a $50 monthly fee to use the app. The driver can take home 100% of their fare, which they set themselves. The system leads to cheaper rides for passengers and higher wages for drivers, the company claims.
But Empower is facilitating those rides over the objection of the city Taxi and Limousine Commission, which set up a dedicated website warning New Yorkers not to use the app.
In order for an app-based ride to be legal in the five boroughs, the platform must register for a “base” with the TLC — a facility where cars are dispatched to passengers and operated by the company. Empower doesn’t have one.
The company is supposed to pay a $1,500 application fee to secure the base, and insure each of its vehicles.
“We’re not completely averse to that idea, but we do think it’s important that drivers should have the right to work for themselves,” Empower CEO Joshua Sear said of the city’s rules, which he’s explicitly flouting. “Every licensed professional has the ability to work for themselves and determine how much they want to charge for their own services.”
Sear said thousands of drivers provide “tens of thousands” of rides in the city through Empower each week. That’s a drop in the bucket compared to the 88,000 drivers providing more than 4 million rides a week for Uber and Lyft, but Sear says the app giants have taken notice.
“I’ve spoken with board members of Uber,” said Sear. “ This is an existential threat to their business, and they are going to do everything in their power, bribe every official they can, influence anyone, pull every lever they can to stop drivers from working for themselves.
Uber did not respond to a request for comment on Sear’s claims.
Sear’s company is following a similar playbook that Uber deployed when it launched in cities across the United States in the 2010s. In many cases, Uber would enter markets without approval from regulators, competing with licensed taxi cab industries.
Empower is in ongoing civil litigation with municipal regulators in Washington, D.C., who took issue with the company's launch in the district without approval. A judge ruled the company and Sear be held in contempt of court after they kept offering rides. Court documents show that Empower is appealing that contempt order.
At least for now, Empower continues to operate in New York City — with far lower prices than the competition.
A ride on the service from Bushwick to SoHo during the Monday morning rush cost $28.18. The prices offered by Uber and Lyft for the same route were $68 and $60, respectively. Another ride from Lower Manhattan to the Port Authority Bus Terminal — 3.5 miles, 28 minutes long — cost $21 on Empower, compared to $34 on Uber.
But Sear believes if Empower were to set up a base and comply with city regulations, it would be no different than the Silicon Valley giants.
“Uber controls almost all the bases,” he said.
The TLC insists the app must go through the legal process if it wants to continue operating in the city. It warns drivers — who are required to have a TLC license to use Empower — that they can face fines up to $500 if they’re caught using the app, lose their license and miss out on benefits should they get into an accident.
“Despite repeated attempts to encourage Empower to apply for a license, it continues to operate illegally,” TLC spokesperson Jason Kersten wrote in a statement. “Riders using unlicensed apps should know that their trips aren't tracked, and they will likely be on their own if they lose property or experience issues.”
Empower isn’t the only app-based ride service that operates illegally in the city. There’s also Luxy, a “professional black car booking platform,” which doesn’t have a TLC license, offering rides in the city. Additionally, WhatsApp groups like the “Tri State Limo Owner Operator” and “Sale & TLC Rental” illegally dispatch cars to hotels and other locations from a network of drivers, either licensed or not, according to the TLC.
But some drivers are desperate to make extra money.
Uber and Lyft drivers face the growing costs of car insurance, vehicle financing and steeper cuts the apps take from their rides. Some drivers have opted to run their business without any oversight by soliciting for rides outside of airports and charging travelers any price they want.
Bhairavi Desai, Executive Director of the Taxi Workers Alliance, said some drivers in the union have used the app as a means to make “supplemental income.” But she said Empower needs to “break into the market” first to get more consumers on their platform — and that would need to be through legal means.
Tagged
new york city
public safety
transportation
Ramsey Khalifeh
Ramsey Khalifeh is a transportation reporter on the NYC Accountability desk covering the largest transit system in the country. He was previously a general assignment reporter at Gothamist and worked on the Boston Globe's metro and copy desk. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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