MANILA, Philippines — Ride-hailing service partners with a temporary status can apply for regularization until next month, according to the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board.
The LTFRB has extended the 30-working-day application period, which started on Oct. 8.
Up to 13,216 riders have applied so far, with 5,091 granted provisional authority to operate a transport network vehicle service (TNVS), acting LTFRB Chairman Greg Pua Jr. said.
“Our regularization move is aimed at helping thousands of TNVS drivers whose only fault was that they relied in good faith on their onboarding and assumed substantial financial commitments in the process,” Pua said.
The LTFRB intends to enlist thousands of TNVS partners following discrepancies found in the platforms of some transport network companies.
TNCs are onboarding TNVS units with no requisite authority from the LTFRB, thus violating regulations.
Applicants must prepare and upload documents to help the LTFRB expedite their regularization, Pua said.
“Follow application processes. The requirements are intended to prevent application cancellations due to some challenges that include questions on vehicle ownership,” he said.
Challenges in the franchise online application system earlier prompted Pua to initiate additional measures to make the entire process easier.
Pua said the LTFRB will continue to monitor the progress of applications, with the end goal of regularizing many temporary TNVS partners.
Extending the deadline follows President Marcos and Transporation Secretary Vince Dizon’s instructions to ensure that no one would be left behind in the public transport sector, Pua said.