Kicked to the kerb

AS THE City Council rushes to freeze the growth of Uber and other for-hire vehicles, no less than the Rev Al Sharpton is raising an inconvenient truth: it’s a hit on minorities and the poor.

Sharpton’s National Action Network joins the NAACP and National Urban League in pointing out that these alternatives to medallion taxis are vital to many New Yorkers. And it’s not just that black riders, in particular, have been left standing as yellow taxis whiz by or shun poor, minority neighbourhoods altogether. Though The Rev puts that point plainly enough: “I’m trying to get to work… I want somebody that’s going to pick me up.”

It’s also that outer-borough-dwellers have been especially hard-hit by the subway system’s woes, so that an Uber, Lyft or old-style “black car” can be their only chance to get to work on time. Plus, many of these areas still have poor public transit options.

Council speaker Corey Johnson claims the freeze wouldn’t hurt service. But demand is “growing fastest in the outer rings of the outer boroughs,” sections “ignored by yellow taxis and taken for granted by the MTA,” an Uber aide notes. These areas could soon find themselves underserved.

Plus, the case for the cap is weak. Any slowdown in traffic may have more to do with mayor De Blasio’s lower speed limits, bike lanes, pedestrian plazas, construction projects and traffic other than Uber & co.

Yes, taxi medallions have lost value in the face of new competition. But the answer isn’t to make riders (minority or not) suffer. Cynics will note that car services have donated to the NAN and Urban League. Fair enough; the taxi industry has given handsomely to many lawmakers’ campaigns.

What matters is whose arguments hold up – and on this issue, Sharpton makes more sense than the “progressives” in office.