Unless they are also operators, drivers will no longer absorb passenger discounts starting April 7.

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has ordered transport network companies (TNCs) and transport network vehicle service (TNVS) operators to equally shoulder the 20% fare discounts that persons with disability, senior citizens, and students are legally entitled to.

“The TNVS operator and the TNC will equally share (50%-50%) the mandated fare discounts,” stated LTFRB Memorandum Circular 2025-10 which was released today, March 24, and will be effective on April 7.

“The fare discounts mandated by law and other regulations shall not be passed on by the TNC and the TNVS operator to the TNVS-driver unless the TNVS operator is also the driver of the vehicle,” the board further decided.

The decision comes after a series of Senate and LTFRB hearings revealed that the country’s top ride-hailing applications, Grab and JoyRide, have been passing on 65% and 80% of the discount costs, respectively, to their drivers.

Courier service GET Express has also been passing on 50% of the discount costs to its drivers.

Transport leader and former Grab driver Leonardo de Leon Jr. expressed disappointment over the decision, however. It was De Leon’s petition to the LTFRB, filed in December 2024, that pushed the board to probe the issue.

“Non-negotiable sa amin na ipakarga sa driver/operator ang discount (For us, it’s non-negotiable to pass the discount on to the driver/operator),” he told the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ). 

De Leon leads the transport group Laban TNVS. Citing a 2017 LTFRB memo, he said TNCs should completely shoulder the discount costs.

However, a more recent LTFRB memo said TNVS operators should also shoulder a portion of the amount.

“(T)he TNVS-operator shall bear the 20% discount it being the grantee of the (Certificate of Public Convenience), the common carrier, and the provider of transportation services,” the board said.

De Leon also asked the LTFRB to direct erring transport companies to audit the discount amounts absorbed by their drivers and issue refunds. He was concerned that the “premature implementation” of the new circular might jeopardize these appeals.

“The issuance or implementation of MC No. 2025-10, while a refund case is pending, would violate the principles of procedural fairness, administrative efficiency, and good governance,” he said. — PCIJ.org