The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) recently released a memorandum that allows almost 26,000 taxi and Transport Network Vehicle Services (TNVS) units to resume operations starting June 1, the first day of general community quarantine (GCQ) for Metro Manila.
Under the Memorandum Circular (MC) 2020-018 or the “Guidelines for the Operations of Taxis and Transport Network Vehicle Services (TNVS) during the Period of GCQ,” the LTFRB officially allows taxi and TNVS services to resume. Based on the updated list, a total of 18,631 TNVS units and 7,315 are expected to get back on the road beginning today.
Under the memo, the LTFRB reiterates that there would be no increase in fares among taxis and TNVS, and only cashless transactions are allowed as mode of payment. In addition, passengers are also required to wear face masks before boarding the vehicles.
For drivers and operators, the LTFRB MC 2020-018 stresses the strict implementation of safety and hygiene protocols to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). These include wearing face masks and gloves, regular cleaning and disinfection of each vehicle after every trip or every two hours, placing barriers made from non-permeable at transparent materials, and observing the reduced passenger seating capacity based on the guidelines earlier issued by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) and the Department of Transportation (DOTr).