LTFRB opens more than 8k TNVS slots

MANILA: The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has opened a total of 8,750 Transport Network Vehicle Service (TNVS) slots to accommodate the growing demand for public transportation.

In a statement, the agency said the spike in demand for public transportation is due to increased economic activities, prompting the largest franchise opening in the National Capital Region..

However, these slots are exclusive for electrified vehicles.  

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Electric exclusivity 

According to Acting LTFRB Chairman Attorney Greg Pua Junior, the 7,500 TNVS slots for Metro Manila will be exclusive for electric vehicles (EV), such as plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEV) and battery-electric vehicles (BEV).

These electrified taxis are aimed at helping sustain the availability of public transportation due to increased tourism and other economic activities in the National Capital Region.

Of note, the most common electrified transport vehicles in the metro—at the time of publication—include the likes of the BYD Seal 5 DM-i, VinFast Herio Green and Limo Green, as well as the Changan Eado EV460. 

LTFRB cited Memorandum Circular 2026-084, which states: “Conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) other than PHEVs, and other vehicle technologies that do not fall within the BEV or PHEV classifications shall not be eligible for the slots opened herein.”

“The classification of the vehicle as a BEV or PHEV shall be based on its registration and classification by the Land Transportation Office (LTO) and other applicable government standards and issuances,” it added.

Acting Chairman Pua said the move is in line with the direction of the national government for modern and environment-friendly public transportation. It also follows the President’s commitment to support modern public transportation and to have half of all the vehicles on the road be EVs by 2040.

In approving the slots for TNVS, Acting Chairman Pua said they made sure that the national government’s goal of pursuing electric vehicle public transportation is factored in.

Other regions 

The remaining 1,250 slots were divided among other areas such as the Ilocos Region, which gets 650 openings. According to the agency, half of the said number is dedicated to electrified vehicles.

Broken down, a total of 75 internal combustion engines and 75 non-internal combustion engines were allocated to Ilocos Norte for a total of 150. The same allocation and mode were approved for Ilocos Sur and La Union.

For Pangasinan, the approved slots are 200—100 internal combustion engines and 100 non-internal combustion engines.

In the Bicol Region, half of the 600 TNVS slots approved are allocated for electric vehicles as well.

The decision to open the slots in the Ilocos Region and Bicol Region was based on the monitoring and study of the prevailing transport conditions, Pua said. It was concluded that there is insufficient TNVS allocation to serve the geographic coverage and increasing volume of commuters in the area.

Additionally, the Acting Chairman noted that feedback from various stakeholders also boosted the need to increase the allocation due to prevailing passenger demand.

“We in the LTFRB are sensitive to the request and demand from the people, and the opening of the slots is also in support of the government’s aggressive economic push across the country,” Pua was quoted as saying. 

Per LTFRB, the application for the available slots will start once the memorandum circulars relating to this decision are published in a newspaper with general circulation.

Also read:

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LTFRB: apprehension of unconsolidated PUVs now in effect 

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