Frequently Asked Questions

Empower is a peer-to-peer alternative to Uber/Lyft, where drivers set their own rates, keep 100% of the fare, and are paid directly in-app by riders. In exchange, drivers pay Empower a flat monthly subscription fee, which is significantly less than the amount that Uber/Lyft are taking from drivers in taking over 35% of the fare on average from each ride

Empower is currently available in Winston-Salem / Greensboro, North Carolina and in Washington D.C.

Go to contact us and select Bring Empower To My City and tell us which city you would like Empower to be in.

Have drivers in your area download the Driver App and begin to create their account.

The first month is free! After that, if you indicate that you want to continue to receive ride requests, you'll be charged your local market monthly subscription price. (Effective January 1, 2020 pricing in DC market will be $20/month. Pricing in NC markets will remain $10/month.)

Ultimately, as the company enables drivers to make more money by providing more ride requests, we will increase the subscription price; however, we’ll never increase the price without your approval and we’ll always charge significantly less than what Uber and Lyft take through their high commissions on each and every ride. At the end of the day, if you’re not making more money using Empower, you’re not going to pay for the subscription, so we have to charge an amount that makes sense for drivers, because you are our customers.

You can pause or cancel your subscription anytime effective at the beginning of the next month.

The rider’s fare is transferred directly in-app from their credit card to your account. Rider fares never touch Empower’s bank account!

Empower provides all drivers with a suggested rate card; however, you control your rate card. The suggested rate is set so that drivers make about 20% - 25% more than they would if the ride were provided by Uber/Lyft, instead of directly by you.

If you notice a surge on Uber or Lyft, you can report the surge on Empower and it will automatically increase your rates to coordinate with the surge.

We know the rating system for Uber/Lyft can create problems. We think we’ve fixed this by having riders simply give a “Thumbs Up” or “Thumbs Down” (or no rating) at the end of the ride. We think this avoids a rider giving a driver a 4 and thinking that’s a good rating when in fact that’s a bad rating on Uber/Lyft. And unlike Uber/Lyft, where you can’t get a human being on the phone, we have 24/7 driver support staffed by folks in the area who are ready to assist drivers at all times. In fact, right now, our DC GM, Gabrielle, has all escalated customer support calls forwarded to her cell phone!

Drivers are our customers and we want to make sure that you’re heard and that you love driving using Empower. Riders can also favorite a driver and then request that they only be matched with their favorite drivers. If you have a lot of riders that have favorited you, we’ll likely suggest you increase your rate card a bit as riders are typically willing to pay a bit more for their favorite drivers.

Yes, through the Empower Driver Rewards Program, you'll receive $10 in cash for every rider you refer. You can refer riders both through the Driver App (tap Refer-a-Rider in the Menu), or by having riders scan your individualized QR code on marketing materials that hang from the back of your headrests. If you would like individualized marketing materials, please let us know.

Through the Empower Driver Rewards Program, Drivers can also earn $10 in cash for every driver they refer. To refer another driver, simply go to the menu in the Empower app, tap Refer-a-Driver and send a text or email to as many of your driver friends as you like.

If a rider cancels more than 3 minutes after you accepted their ride request, Empower will charge a rider a $2 cancellation fee, on your behalf. If the rider cancels more than 6 minutes after you accepted, the rider will be charged $4. Also, if you arrive and wait for the rider for 5 minutes and the rider does not show up, you’ll receive a $4 “no-show” fee.

Yes. For each rider you refer you’ll receive $5.