Policy and purpose of enforcement
- Certificates of Public Convenience (CPC) holders and their drivers must obey and follow the LTFRB’s orders, rules, and regulations, and these are incorporated into and form an integral part of every CPC.
- The LTFRB requires strict observance of franchise-related matters by the Board.
- Public utility vehicle (PUV) operators must ensure adequate, safe, convenient, environment-friendly, and dependable public land transportation services at reasonable rates.
- Operators must comply with land-based transportation policies, programs, and projects responsive to an investment-led and demand-driven industry.
- Operators must adhere to the Clean Air Act and other related environmental laws.
Core operating prohibitions and duties
- Operators must prohibit smoking or carrying lighted cigarettes or other tobacco products within the terminal/garage or inside all PUVs, and must display prominent “No Smoking” signs within the premises and inside all PUVs.
- Operators must not resort to cessation of service as protest against any government decision or action; violations lead to suspension or cancellation of the authority to operate.
- Operators must not tolerate, allow, or authorize personnel to join acts prejudicial to the riding public, including paralyzing transport services through intimidation, coercion, or violence.
- Operators must provide customers or users all information and assistance pertaining to their services for proper, efficient, and economical service.
- It is unlawful for any operator to give undue preferences or make unjust discrimination in service.
- Operators must operate only on routes authorized in the Certificate of Public Conveyance unless otherwise authorized by the Board.
- Operators must not allow vehicles belonging to others to be registered and/or operated under the operator’s CPC.
- Operators must not allow illegal transfer of motor vehicle plate/s or illegal reproduction for unauthorized units (including “akambal plaka.”).
- Operators must not allow illegal use or transfer of chassis or engine motor (including “apukpok chassis”) for unauthorized PUVs.
- No operator may accept or carry passengers in excess of the capacity fixed by the Board.
Public fares, cargo, and weight limits
- Operators must charge passenger and freight rates as authorized by the Board.
- Operators must not charge fares lower or higher than those authorized without previous authority from the Board.
- Operators must post a copy of the Fare Matrix in a conspicuous place at the office, terminal, or waiting stations, and inside each motor vehicle in actual service.
- Children less than 1 meter in height must be transported free of charge.
- Children from 1 to 1.30 meters in height must pay half fare.
- Operators must provide necessary markings in a suitable place in motor vehicles for verifying the heights of children entitled to free or half fare.
- Operators must grant fare discounts as prescribed by law, policies, rules, and regulations to Senior Citizens and Persons with Disability (PWDs).
- Operators must grant fare discounts to Students during school days, limited to those currently enrolled in Pre-school, Elementary, Secondary and collegiate schools, including academic, vocational or technical schools duly recognized by the Government, except dancing and driving schools, short term seminar-type courses, and post-graduate studies (medicine, law, masteral, doctoral degrees, and the like).
- Operators must not deprive passengers granted fare privileges and discounted fares with appropriate seats.
Accessibility and discrimination rules
- Operators must display the International Symbol of Accessibility in their units and designate seats for PWDs as follows:
- For PUBs: Regular buses must have at least five (5) designated seats for PWDs near entrance doors; airconditioned buses must have at least four (4) designated seats near entrance doors.
- For regular and airconditioned city buses: other passengers may use the designated seats if not occupied, but must yield them to incoming PWDs.
- For provincial buses: other passengers may use the designated seats if no PWDs occupy them at the start of the trip.
- For PUBs operating in highly urbanized cities: operators must install audio-visual aids (buzzers, bells, flashing lights) to inform the driver of any alighting passenger.
- For PUJs: owners must provide at least two (2) seats, at the convenience of the PWD, for PWD use; other passengers must yield them to incoming PWDs.
- Operators must provide for PWD access in bus terminals and stations:
- Widen doors/access to comfort rooms to allow entry of wheelchairs.
- Provide ramps for easy access by wheelchairs to waiting lounges.
- Mark a bench or space for PWD use in waiting lounges, which others may use only if no PWDs are using it.
- It is discrimination for operators and their drivers/personnel to charge higher fare or refuse to convey a PWD, including the PWD’s orthopedic devices, personal effects, and merchandise, by reason of disability.
Vehicle identification, signage, and equipment
- Operators must charge and operate under proper authority only and must comply with vehicle identification rules:
- Operators must inscribe on both sides of each public utility vehicle legible at a distance the operator’s full name, the word “operator,” address, passenger seating capacity (including driver and/or conductor), authorized route, case number, and plate number.
- For Trucks-for-Hire, the freight capacity in tonnage must also be indicated.
- If a commercial or business name is adopted (except for PUJs), it must be inscribed legibly in conspicuous places above the other inscriptions.
- When a public utility vehicle is not available for public service while operating on highways, it must display on its front a signboard stating “NOT AVAILABLE.”
- Each taxicab must display “ON CALL” and “GARAGE” signs near the taximeter or at the windshield when the driver is on the way to pick-up a passenger pursuant to a call made by the passenger at the operator’s garage or when the driver is on its way back to the garage; the signs must be legible at a distance of at least thirty (30) meters.
- Public utility vehicles must carry on the front above the windshield a route signboard/panel lighted when operating after dark, showing the route of the particular trip in accordance with the Certificate of Public Convenience.
- Public utility vehicles must display a “FULL” sign when carrying maximum capacity:
- In closed-type vehicles, the “FULL” sign must be placed conspicuously at the entrance and on the left side of the windshield.
Advertising, branding, and business names
- Except for PUJs, operators must adopt only a commercial, trade, or business name duly issued by an authorized government agency, subject to Board approval.
- If an operator adopts a distinct trade/company design, color scheme, or combination of colors distinct from what is required by the Board (including unit markings and uniforms), it requires prior Board approval.
- Transit advertising materials and other markings on public utility vehicles require prior Board approval.
Freight, baggage, animals, and corpses
- Each passenger is entitled to free carriage of 10 kilograms of baggage and must pay corresponding freightage for excess weight.
- When units carry both passengers and freight, freight must be placed in a separate compartment, except packages/bundles sized so they can be placed under seats without inconvenience and without compromising safety.
- When freight is carried on top of Public Utility Buses, it must not exceed 20 kilos per square meter of roof area, distributed so it does not endanger passengers’ lives or the bus’s stability.
- Operators must not load animals of any kind except fowls.
- In carriage of fowls and other animals, passengers’ convenience, comfort, and safety must not be sacrificed.
- Cargo that emits foul odor must be covered with canvas or suitable material to avoid offending passengers.
- Operators must not carry or transport cadavers or corpses unless no other passengers are carried, except relatives or friends of the deceased.
Ticketing and taxi meter rules
- All Public Utility Bus (PUB) and Taxi operators must issue tickets/receipts to passengers in accordance with Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) requirements.
- Tickets/receipts must clearly indicate the exact amount of fare collected and the point of embarkation and destination.
- All taxi meters with receipt must be presented to the Board twice a year for testing and sealing under existing policies and on dates or instances the Board prescribes.
Personnel standards and training
- Operators must employ drivers, conductors, inspectors, and other personnel who are courteous and of good moral character.
- Operators must not employ any person convicted by a competent court of homicide and/or serious physical injuries, theft, estafa, robbery, and crimes against chastity, unless with prior written approval by the Board.
- Operators are prohibited from employing drivers without a valid professional driver’s license and appropriate restriction code.
- Operators, including drivers, must attend trainings/seminars on transport management, road safety, and good driving habits conducted/accredited by the Board.
- Operators must subject drivers and conductors to orientation and rigid examinations pursuant to existing laws, policies, rules, and regulations before acceptance or hiring.
- During employment, operators must at their own expense conduct or cause the conduct of training and/or seminars for drivers, conductors, inspectors, and other concerned personnel.
Uniform, IDs, and dress requirements
- Operators must provide the required uniform for drivers, conductors, and inspectors when on duty, with colors by service:
- PUV Service: light blue
- PUB Service: white
- Taxi Service: red
- UV Express: green
- Trucks for Hire Service: maroon
- Tourist Transport Service: yellow
- School Service: yellow
- Except for PUJs, the polo uniform must bear the driver/conductor/inspector name and the logo of the company/business name (if applicable).
- Drivers, conductors, and inspectors must wear long pants (any color) and shoes; slippers/sandals are not allowed.
- Each driver, conductor, and inspector must be issued a company ID bearing the company’s name and address, the person’s name, and photograph, and must be conspicuously displayed or worn during each trip.
- Deviations from uniform requirements (including uniforms issued by an association/cooperative) require prior Board approval.
Annual reporting, SSS certification, and fees
- Operators must submit to the Board on or before May 15 of every year an Annual Report in the form prescribed by the Board.
- The Annual Report must include a certification from the Social Security System that all employee contributions have been paid.
- Operators engaged in one or more than one class/denomination of public service must file a separate Annual Report for each class/denomination.
- Operators must pay the Board on or before September 30 of every year supervision and regulation fees computed at the rate applicable to the authorized service.
- With payment, operators must submit to the Board a list of authorized unit/s registered for the current year for which the fees were paid.
Franchise confirmation and legal compliance
- Operators must seek confirmation of their franchise with the Board prior to registration of authorized unit/s with the Land Transportation Office.
- Failure to confirm for two (2) consecutive years results in cancellation of franchise.
- Operators must comply with the Social Security Act, Labor and Social Legislation, Taxation Law, and all other laws, rules, and regulations pertaining to public land transportation services.
Preventive suspension and accident duties
- Operators must strictly prohibit exhibition of pornographic video tapes and/or violent films including nudity, explicit violence, and extremely offensive and profane language in all authorized units.
- Operators must keep a chronological record of all accidents, including nature, causes, consequences, and measures taken to avoid recurrence (including financial assistance or help to accident victim/s).
- A detailed accident report must be submitted to the Board on or before the 10th day of the following month.
- Accidents resulting in death or physical injuries must be reported to the Board within seventy-two (72) hours from occurrence.
- The Board may, prior to hearing, suspend for a period not exceeding thirty (30) days any CPC or the exercise of any right or authority whenever necessary to avoid further injuries or damages from continued operation.
- Willful or contumacious refusal to comply with a Preventive Suspension Order requires the Board to suspend ALL CPCs or the exercise of rights/authority issued or granted to the operator.
- Authorized units under a suspended franchise must be brought to the Board or to any duly accredited agency/office for inspection on roadworthiness.
- The operator and drivers/conductors must undergo Road Safety seminars conducted by the Board or a duly accredited/recognized training center at the operator’s expense.
- Operators must render immediate assistance to accident victims by bringing them to the nearest hospital for medical assistance, or immediately report the accident to the nearest police station for investigation.
- Failure to do so is deemed a “Hit and Run” accident and causes suspension for thirty (30) days of all authorized units under the franchise number where the involved motor vehicle is included.
Ongoing compliance with Board orders
- Operators must comply with all existing Memorandum Circulars, Resolutions, and other Orders issued by the Board and those the Board may subsequently issue.
Penalties for violations and special rules
- Violations are penalized under the following schedule, except for Paragraphs 14, 17 and 18:
- 1st Offense: fine of PHP 2,000.00
- 2nd Offense: fine of PHP 3,000.00 with suspension of CPC for sixty (60) days and confiscation of for hire plate/s
- 3rd Offense: fine of PHP 5,000.00 and cancellation of CPC
- Violations of Paragraph 14 are penalized in accordance with BP 344 and RA 7277, as amended:
- 1st Offense: fine of PHP 50,000.00
- 2nd and subsequent Offenses: fine of PHP 100,000.00
- Violations of Paragraphs 17 and 18 are penalized as follows:
- 1st Offense: suspension of CPC where unit involved is included for six (6) months
- 2nd Offense: cancellation of CPC where unit involved is included
- 3rd Offense: cancellation of all CPCs granted to the PUV operator and perpetual disqualification to be a grantee of CPC for any mode of transport issued by the Board.
Supersession and effectivity mechanics
- The Memorandum Circular supersedes and amends all issuances inconsistent with it.
- The Circular’s effectivity is governed by the publication and filing requirements: fifteen (15) days after publication in a newspaper of general circulation and filing three (3) copies with the UP Law Center under Presidential Memorandum Circular No. 11 dated 9 October 1992.