Uber: Restore Black Tier for Existing Infiniti QX60 Drivers — Honor Your Written Promise

We, the undersigned TLC-licensed Uber Black drivers operating Infiniti QX60 vehicles in New York City, call on Uber to reverse its decision to remove the Black tier from our vehicles — or at minimum, to protect existing drivers as Uber itself has done in the past.

The Background

For years, Uber offered two premium tiers in New York City: Uber Black and Uber Black SUV. Drivers invested in qualifying vehicles — including the Infiniti QX60 — based on the expectation of continued access to the Black tier.

Uber’s Written Promise — July 15, 2025

On July 15, 2025, Uber sent an official email to its driver partners announcing the elimination of the Black SUV tier. In that same communication, Uber explicitly assured drivers that the Uber Black tier would remain. Drivers relied on this written assurance. Many of us had already made — or were in the process of making — long-term financial commitments: vehicle purchases, financing agreements, and TLC commercial insurance contracts.

The Broken Promise — December 19, 2025

Just five months later, on December 19, 2025, Uber sent another email announcing that the Infiniti QX60 would be removed from the Uber Black tier effective June 22, 2026.

This directly contradicts the assurance given in July 2025. Drivers who purchased or financed a QX60 in reliance on Uber’s written promise now face serious financial harm with no adequate notice or transition period.

The Logic Makes No Sense

Uber’s decision is not only a broken promise — it is fundamentally inconsistent. Dozens of vehicles currently eligible for the Uber Black tier are smaller in size and no more premium than the Infiniti QX60, a full-size luxury SUV with three rows of seating, a refined interior, and a starting MSRP well above most competing models.

Among the vehicles that remain eligible for Uber Black while the QX60 is being removed:

Audi Q5, BMW X3, BMW X5, BMW X6, Genesis GV60, Genesis GV70, Genesis GV80, Jaguar F-Pace, Lincoln Corsair, Lincoln Nautilus, Lincoln MKT, Mercedes-Benz GLC, Mercedes-Benz GLE.

Several of these are compact SUVs. None offer more passenger space than the QX60. Many carry a lower market value. There is no credible quality, safety, or passenger experience justification for removing the QX60 while retaining these vehicles.

Uber owes its drivers — and its passengers — a transparent explanation of the criteria being applied. As it stands, this decision appears arbitrary and financially damaging to a specific group of professional drivers who did everything right.

What Uber Has Done Before — And Should Do Again

This is not unprecedented. When Uber has previously removed vehicle models from a tier, it protected existing drivers: those who already held the tier option at the time of the policy change were permitted to continue driving under that tier until their vehicle naturally aged out of eligibility (for example, the 6-year vehicle age limit for the Black tier).

This approach is fair, reasonable, and consistent with Uber’s own past conduct. It does not require Uber to grant the Black tier to any newly registering QX60 — only to honor the tier for those of us who already hold it.

Our Ask

We respectfully but firmly request that Uber:

 1. Honor its July 15, 2025 written assurance that the Black tier would remain
 2. Protect all existing Uber Black QX60 drivers — preserve the Black tier for those who currently hold it, without extending it to new registrations
 3. Provide a transparent explanation of the criteria used to determine vehicle eligibility for the Black tier
 4. Provide adequate financial transition support if the decision is not reversed

We are TLC-licensed professionals. We operate commercial vehicles. We pay commercial insurance. We followed Uber’s rules and invested accordingly. We deserve to be treated as partners — not as an afterthought.

Sign this petition if you drive a QX60 on Uber Black or support fair treatment for professional rideshare drivers.

This petition collects signatures from TLC-licensed drivers. To formally register your name, email, and TLC license number for submission to Uber and the Independent Drivers Guild, please also complete the official form linked below.

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