There is a newer way to get around Dallas-Fort Worth, and in our experience it has been cheaper than every other rideshare app we use. It is called Empower, and it arrived in North Texas this spring.
Empower works differently from Uber and Lyft. Instead of taking a cut of every fare, the company charges drivers a flat subscription to use its app, $29.99 a month in Dallas, and the drivers set their own prices and keep 100 percent of what riders pay. The company says that model makes its rides about 20 percent cheaper on average than Uber and Lyft. Our own rides around town have backed that up.
Example on prices, we were picked up at DFW Airport and driven to downtown Dallas for $25 including tip. Uber wanted $65 before tip. The driver was paid the full $25.
Booking feels familiar. You open the Empower app, enter where you are going and pick a vehicle. Options include Everyday and Everyday XL for regular rides, and Premium and Premium XL if you want something nicer. You can also choose a favorite driver for repeat trips or request a driver of the same gender, a feature a lot of riders will appreciate late at night.
Empower started in 2019 and says it has completed more than 20 million rides for over 600,000 riders. It now operates in several cities, including Atlanta, Baltimore, Charlotte, Washington, D.C., and Dallas-Fort Worth. It has not been without controversy. Regulators in Washington, D.C., and Maryland have fought the company for years over licensing, and Empower maintains that it is a software platform, not a transportation company. Any time you try a newer service, it is worth reading the fine print, so take a minute with the app’s terms before your first ride.
If you want to give it a try, use our code 5UBJQ9 when you sign up to get a discount on your ride.
We would not share this if we did not use the service ourselves.
