I’ve used Uber and Lyft for many years. However, when Empower came on the scene four years ago in North Carolina, it changed the game in favor of not only the drivers, but the riders as well! Their options of having favorite drivers and gender match, are features that had long been requested of Uber and Lyft, yet never provided! In addition, after being tired of being burned with the incredibly high surges for both Uber and Lyft, it’s refreshing to get a ride on an app that while there may be a surge, it won’t be anything like what you see with Uber and Lyft at the same time! Additionally, new riders that sign up earn ride credits and can keep earning ride credits by using the refer a friend and refer a driver tabs in the app. Also, it’s great to see a software that lets drivers earn 100% of the fare. Drivers pay for a subscription and after that’s paid, they get to keep the remainder of their fares. You should give it a try!

These people are ridiculous! I’ve been using empower for a while, and then one day when I try to book a ride, they randomly tell me my account has been locked due to fraudulent activity. I review my rides and see they are all accurate, no fraud. I email them telling them my rides are correct and there is no fraud and they say “ Your account has been locked due to suspected fraudulent transaction activity and is subject to deactivation. Please note, Empower reserves the right to take steps necessary to reverse or undo the impact of any fraudulent transactions. If you wish to provide any information, please do so by responding to this email.” I respond telling them there isn’t any fraudulent activity and the rides are correct, so I have no information to provide. They then respond saying “ Unfortunately, we can only advise that we are unable to unlock your account at this time. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.” I keep asking why and they won’t give me any information at all, just telling me they can’t unlock my account and can’t provide any further information at this tune. It’s extremely frustrating because I’ve used them often, and I keep telling them my rides were all accurate!! It’s not like a filed a dispute with my credit card company or something. They just locked me out and won’t let me create a new account for no reason!!

My 7 year old daughter and I were picked up around 10:41P on March 11 to be dropped off at the Ritz Carlton-Pentagon City in VA. When the driver was on his way I noticed in the Empower app he wasn’t following the suggested route on the map. We met him outside with luggage and he agreed to let me use his trunk. My daughter hopped in the vehicle as the driver popped the trunk from the drivers seat and I started to walk to the back of the vehicle with the suitcases but he forgot to put the car in park so the vehicle started to roll back. He hopped back in the suburban and slammed on the brakes then shifted gears. My daughter was frightened and I was in shock. We finally are on our way and he again is not taking the suggested route on the map. His music is way too loud and he’s joking with my daughter that he’s going to to take her home with him. We get to the Ritz Hotel and he’s taking the luggage out. He hands me the large suitcase and he was about to hand over the mini suitcase to my daughter but hesitates and asks her, “I thought you were coming home with me. You aren’t coming home with me?” So I go to grab the suitcase from him and he actually has a slight grip on the handle but he sees my intent and finally let’s go saying, “Have a good night” and leaves. I emailed Empower twice and tried to call but have not heard back. The safety of their customers doesn’t seem to be a priority! Stay away!

I want this app to succeed as I believe in its mission to be more inclusive for drivers while also letting them walk home with a larger share of the fare - while committing to keeping fares lower than competitors such as Lyft and Uber. However the app needs substantially more work and quality improvements and in the last year or so I’ve been using it, none of the persistent issues have been addressed. The quoted fare while requesting a ride and then getting a ride accepted are often different - it’s simply a scam and against the value proposition of this company to advertise a $8 ride and then charge $16 for it, which is often higher than what Lyft would cost. In the last few months, the prices have also converged with competitors. The navigation / GPS are terrible and I almost always have to call the driver to figure out where they are - not their fault as the app shows them a different pickup place than my location. Finally, there’s a much higher incidence of distracted driving or cars in suboptimal shape on this app than the competitors - and a higher share of canceled or delayed rides as well. Overall this app needs to prioritize quality and cost improvements than its current relentless focus on survival and lobbying (multiple emails a week!) - otherwise it will simply not be sustainable.