Ride-hailing apps, operators to equally shoulder fare discounts starting April—LTFRB

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board has mandated transport network companies and Transport Network Vehicle Service operators to equally share the fare discounts starting April 7. 

Under Memorandum Circular 2025-10 issued by LTFRB, the 20% discount availed by senior citizens, persons with disabilities, and students must be equally shared between TNCs and TNVS operators. 

The agency also cited Memorandum Circular 2015-016-A, amended in 2017, which said all discounts mandated by law “shall be shouldered by the TNC.” 

It also stressed that fare discounts “shall not be passed on by the TNC and TNVS operator to the TNVS-Driver,” unless the TNVS operator also serves as the driver. 

TNCs are companies that provide ride-hailing services through applications, while TNVS is a “specific service or category of vehicles that operate under a TNC.” 

This came after a group of TNVS drivers appealed to regulators in February to make ride-hailing firms shoulder the full cost of the mandatory discounts. 

“Ang mga driver/operator po, maliit lang ang kinikita nyan. Bakit kailangan pang ipapasan ang mga discount na ito?” said Laban TNVS president Jun De Leon during a rally outside the LTFRB office in Quezon City, per a report by ABS-CBN News. 

The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism has earlier reported that up to 80% of the discounts were being passed to drivers by leading ride-hailing apps, as revealed in the LTFRB data and a Senate hearing.