When ride-hailing services became popular, taxi operators also came up with their respective online platform to ensure that they would not be left behind—the only problem is that they set their own rules on booking fees.

And amid complaints and questions raised over different booking fees, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) finally intervened by setting a price cap for the payment of booking or platform fee in passenger taxis.

LTFRB chairman Vigor D. Mendoza II stressed the importance of feedback mechanisms in public transportation, in this case, booking fees of taxis, as all the concerns are immediately addressed.

And following the confirmation of the report, Mendoza said they crafted a memorandum circular that will serve as a guideline for taxi operators in dealing with services that use their digital or online platforms.

“This memo, the Memorandum Circular (MC) 2026-055, was already approved by the LTFRB and will take effect after the publication to a newspaper with general circulation,” said Mendoza.

Under the memo, the authorized booking or platform fee that may be collected from

passengers by taxi units through digital or online transport platforms shall be 20 percent of the total approved rate, or, P60—whichever is lower.

The same memo pointed out that the authorized booking or platform fee is applicable uniformly to all taxi units with on-line transport platforms.

“Booking or platform fee shall be separately reflected and clearly disclosed in the fare computation, booking confirmation, and electronic receipt issued to the passenger,” the LTFRB memo circular read.

“No additional booking fee, convenience fee, service fee, platform surcharge, or similarly denominated charge beyond the foregoing authorized amount shall be imposed or collected without prior approval from the Board,” it added.

Leveling the playing field

After receiving the complaints, the LTFRB review of the existing policy revealed that the only related case of booking fee charging was that of the pick-up fares for the ride-hailing services.

The pick-up rate for Transport Network Vehicle Service (TNVS) was earlier fixed by the LTFRB through Memorandum Circular 2025-058 which imposed fixed pick-up fares for TVS operations corresponding to the distance traveled by drivers from the booking acceptance point to the passenger pick-up location.

This was briefly implemented in December last year over surge fee concerns.

The LTFRB stated that the absence of clear policy on booking taxis using online platform resulted in unauthorized or inconsistent collection of additional charges causes

confusion among passengers and may result in unreasonable transportation costs and

non-transparent fare practices.

“There is a need to establish clear and uniform rules governing the imposition, computation, disclosure, and collection of booking or platform fees in order to ensure transparency, protect the riding public, and maintain fair and reasonable transportation charges,” the new circular for taxi booking fee read.

The rules

Mendoza said the guideline set in the memo circular only covers taxi units and operators with digital booking platforms facilitating passenger transport services through online or app-based platforms.

Among the prohibition stipulated under the Memorandum Circular (MC) 2026-055 are:

a. Imposition or collection of unauthorized booking fees, platform fees, convenience fees, or similar charges;

b. Misrepresentation or concealment of charges imposed on passengers;

c. Collection of duplicate or overlapping booking-related charges;

d. Charging passengers fees not reflected in the approved fare structure or digital booking receipt; and,

e. Imposition of arbitrary or dynamically generated booking charges without prior LTFRB approval.

Mendoza pointed out to taxi operators using online platforms to ensure that all their digital transport platforms and operators will clearly disclose all fare components prior to booking confirmation and reflect all authorized charges in the electronic receipt or trip summary.

They were also tasked to maintain records of all booking-related charges for audit and inspection purposes; and submit such reports and data as may be required by the LTFRB.

“Any operator, platform provider, or driver found violating the provisions of this Circular shall be subject to the appropriate administrative sanctions, including fines, suspension, cancellation of franchise, accreditation, or other penalties under existing laws, rules, and regulations,” Mendoza said.