THE Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) said on Sunday it has approved 8,750 new slots for ride-hailing service in Metro Manila, the Ilocos Region and the Bicol Region, with the entire Metro Manila allocation restricted to electric vehicles.
Of the total, 7,500 Transport Network Vehicle Service (TNVS) slots were opened for the National Capital Region (NCR)-the largest single allocation-and these will be available only to plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and battery electric vehicles (BEVs).
‘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,’ LTFRB Memorandum Circular 2026-084 read.
The circular added that ‘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.’
Acting LTFRB Chairman Greg G. Pua Jr. said the electric-only condition follows the national government’s push for a modern and environment-friendly public transportation system.
In his recent State of the Nation Address, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. committed support to modern public transportation and set a goal of having half of all vehicles on the road running on electricity by 2040.
The board opened 650 slots for the Ilocos Region, half of which are reserved for electric vehicles.
Under LTFRB Memorandum Circular 2026-88, Ilocos Norte was allocated 150 slots-75 for internal combustion engine units and 75 for non-internal combustion engine units. The same allocation and split were approved for Ilocos Sur and La Union. Pangasinan received 200 slots, evenly divided between the two categories.
In the Bicol Region, 600 TNVS slots were approved under LTFRB Memorandum Circular 2026-86, with half likewise allocated to electric vehicles.
Pua said the decision to open the slots was based on monitoring and study of prevailing transport conditions, which showed that existing TNVS allocations were insufficient to cover the geographic reach and rising commuter volumes in Metro Manila, the Ilocos Region and the Bicol Region.
Feedback from stakeholders also supported the case for a larger allocation given passenger demand, he said.
He added that a separate review pointed to increased economic activity as a major factor, citing expanding urban, commercial, government and tourism centers that are generating demand for safe, reliable, accessible and technology-enabled transport services for residents and visitors.
‘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 said.
Applications for the new slots will open once the memorandum circulars covering the decision are published in a newspaper of general circulation.