City Council Transportation Committee Chair Shaun Abreu sent Apple Inc. a letter requesting it remove Empower from its online App Store in New York City, in August, due to allegations the controversial ride-hailing app operates in the five boroughs without a Taxi & Limousine Commission (TLC) license. Abreu argues that the tech giant is enabling Empower to continue operating outside the law through its availability on the App Store.
“Empower is currently operating in our city in open and admitted violation of New York law, and its continued availability on the App Store enables that unlawful conduct to continue at the direct expense of passenger safety, driver protections, and public revenue,” Abreu’s letter reads.
Abreu says that by refusing to apply for a high-volume for-hire service base TLC license, Empower is running afoul of city safety and worker protection rules that it would have to meet to obtain one.
“That requirement is not a technicality, and is the primary way the city ensures vehicles carrying paying passengers are properly insured, that drivers are vetted and verified, and that riders are protected if something goes wrong,” Abreu wrote.
“We will not look the other way while illegal operators undermine our laws, exploit drivers, and put passengers at risk,” TLC spokesperson Jason Kersten said. “If you operate in this city, you must play by TLC rules. We are standing up for licensed drivers who follow the law, for passengers who deserve safe and accountable service, and for a regulatory system built on fairness.”
The TLC hit Empower with a cease-and-desist letter in 2022. Despite that, Joshua Sear, CEO of Yazam – which owns Empower – bragged during a March City Council hearing
that his company dispatches over 100,000 trips per week in NYC, well above the legal threshold that requires TLC certification. Abreu says Empower is out of compliance with an Apple requirement that apps on its store abide by local laws in the locations where they are available. He said Apple has removed apps that violated local and state laws in other cities, as recently as earlier this year.
Abreu added that Empower appears to pay neither the state congestion surcharge – applied to for-hire-vehicles – nor the MTA’s congestion pricing toll, robbing the state and transit agency of much-needed revenue. He says foregoing those charges allows Empower to advertise prices that are “artificially” lower than its competitors.
Source: amNY
