LTFRB fines Move It P555-M over excess motorcycle taxi riders

MOTORCYCLE TAXI. Riders of Move It form a motorcade.

Move It Facebook Page

The transport regulator fines Move It P10,000 per excess rider, which it says reached 55,575 riders as of May 2026

MANILA, Philippines – Move It onboarded 55,575 motorcycle taxi riders beyond its government-approved limit, according to an investigation by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).

Move It was authorized to have only 17,746 riders in Metro Manila, Cebu City, and Cagayan de Oro City, but had a total of 73,321 as of May 2026, exceeding its allocation by 55,575, the LTFRB found.

In a decision dated October 9, the LTFRB fined Move It P555.75 million, equivalent to P10,000 for each excess rider.

The LTFRB also cited Move It’s report of 147,214 active rider-partners in Metro Manila. Of these, 44,164 operated for more than eight hours daily, while 103,050 operated for fewer than eight hours.

The agency said Move It’s defense was not that it complied with its rider allocation, but that only certain categories of riders should count toward the excess.

The LTFRB maintained that Move It was aware of its regulatory obligations, including keeping its rider population within its authorized allocation and reporting all rider activations, deactivations, and reactivations.

The agency also said Move It should have gradually reduced its rider population through right-sizing measures and stopped onboarding additional riders.

LTFRB, however, clarified on Tuesday, November 3, that its decision is not yet final because Move It filed a motion for reconsideration.

“What the agency is focused on is addressing the plight of the thousands of overboarded riders who invested their own resources to earn a decent living – and whose only fault was that they acted in good faith and trusted that they were allowed to operate under the existing rules and regulations,” the LTFRB said.

The agency said it is developing measures to address the situation of affected riders while ensuring that motorcycle taxi platforms comply with government regulations on rider onboarding.

In April 2026, the government’s cash aid rollout program exposed discrepancies between the number of motorcycle taxi drivers operating on the ground and those reported by ride-hailing firms. –Rappler.com