Source: Washington Post
“In court on Sept. 30, faced with incarceration, Joshua Sear told lawyers for the District they had won. He would comply with a court order to stop operating an unlicensed ride-hailing service in the city. But his mode of cooperating was a new tactic to keep his Empower app running — within city limits he would offer drivers free use of the software without any service agreement. … Sear said drivers who work exclusively in D.C. won’t be charged at all. Drivers who cross into other jurisdictions will only be charged for activity outside the city. The company contends that it merely sells reservation software to drivers who set rates for their own individual ride-hailing businesses. But that argument has failed in court, and the judge who nearly jailed Sear last month, Shana Frost Matini of D.C.’s Superior Court, wasn’t convinced by this one either.” (10/20/25)