Rideshare company with no NYC license has been conning congestion pricing and ditching millions in tolls: official

They’re conning congestion pricing!An unlicensed rideshare company may be ditching tens of millions of dollars worth of Manhattan congestion tolls — and it’s time for the MTA to do something about it, a top city official said.City Council Democratic Majority Leader Shaun Abreu is calling on the Metropolitan Transportation to investigate discount rideshare company Empower, which has been skirting the toll to enter Midtown Manhattan that competitors like Uber and Lyft have to pay and bake into the cost of a trip.Taxis and livery vehicles have to pay for each trip into the congestion zone, while regular vehicles only pay once — and Empower has allegedly been ditching tolls because it’s operating without a city license.“Yellow taxis and licensed for‑hire vehicle companies collect these charges from their passengers,” Abreu wrote in a letter to MTA Chair Janno Lieber on Tuesday.“Empower, however, appears to be offering rides without collecting either the state congestion surcharge or the MTA’s Congestion Relief Zone toll,” said Abreu, who chairs the council’s Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

“This allows Empower to advertise artificially lower prices while other transportation providers and their drivers continue to follow the law.”MTA Chairman Janno Lieber claimed the MTA has been trying to recoup the lost fees from Empower.“They’re ripping off the public,” Lieber said at an unrelated press conference Wednesday.

“We have to find a way to make sure if they found a loophole it has to be closed.”But a spokesperson for Empower said the company has been trying to pay the congestion toll and their efforts are being refused.“Empower has repeatedly offered to facilitate the assessment and payment of any taxes or fees, including congestion fees, that TLC licensed drivers working for themselves using our software should pay to the City,” a spokesperson for the rideshare company told The Post.The spokesperson said represen...