All 7,500 Metro Manila slots will be exclusively available to electric vehicles, including plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and battery electric vehicles.
ALL 7,500 Metro Manila slots will be exclusively available to electric vehicles, including plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and battery electric vehicles.
PHOTOGRAPH by Analy Labor for DAILY TRIBUNE
Share
The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has approved 8,750 new slots for Transport Network Vehicle Services (TNVS) in Metro Manila and two other regions in Luzon.
The largest allocation, 7,500 slots, is for Metro Manila, which the LTFRB said is intended to sustain the availability of public transportation amid growing demand driven by increased tourism and other economic activities in the National Capital Region. The permits, however, will be open only to electric vehicles.
“The largest opening of slots for Transport Network Vehicle Service (TNVS) is in Metro Manila with 7,500 in a bid to sustain the availability of public transportation amid the growing demand due to the increased tourism and other economic activities in the National Capital Region,” the LTFRB said Sunday.
The agency said all 7,500 Metro Manila slots will be exclusively available to electric vehicles, including plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and battery electric vehicles (BEVs).
Under Memorandum Circular 2026-084, conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) other than PHEVs, and other vehicle technologies that do not fall under the BEV or PHEV classifications are not eligible for the newly opened slots.
Modernization cited
“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.
LTFRB acting chairman Greg Pua Jr. said the move aligns with the national government’s direction toward modern, environment-friendly public transportation.
The LTFRB noted that half of the 650 slots opened for Ilocos Region are for electric vehicles, aside from Metro Manila.
Based on the LTFRB MC 2026-88, a total of 75 internal combustion engines and 75 non-internal combustion engines were allocated for 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 for internal combustion engines and 100 for non-internal combustion engines.
In the Bicol Region, half of the 600 approved TNVS slots are allocated to electric vehicles, based on LTFRB MC 2026-86.
Pua stressed that the decision to open the slots was based on monitoring and studies of prevailing transport conditions, which indicate insufficient TNVS allocation to serve the geographic coverage and increasing volume of commuters in Metro Manila, Ilocos Region and Bicol Region.
