MANILA, Philippines—The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) is reminding taxi operators to subject their cabs to the annual “resealing” of meters for proper calibration, or risk facing sanctions.
Passengers have often complained about cabs with “fast” meters that result in overcharging.
Taxis with tampered meters will face cancellation of their permits to operate.
“We are getting a lot of complaints so we want to make sure that taxis are charging their passengers the correct amount,” LTFRB Board Member Manuel Iway told the Inquirer.
“All passengers need to do is to take down the plate number and trade name of the erring taxi and call the LTFRB if they have any complaints. We will summon the taxi operator for future hearings,” Iway said.
LTFRB seals on taxi meters are an assurance that these are properly calibrated, ensuring that passengers are charged fairly based on government-approved rates.
Iway said taxis with plate numbers ending in 1 and 6 should have their meters calibrated on January and June every year.
Those with plates ending in 2 and 7 are scheduled for resealing in February and July; 3 and 8 in March and August; 4 and 9 in April and September; and 5 and 0 in May and October.
Those who will have their taxis resealed after their scheduled dates will be fined P125 for every week of tardiness.
Iway said that despite the need for resealing clearly stipulated for all taxi franchises, many operators were still unaware of the requirement.
Last January, 4,500 taxis were brought in for resealing, he added.
There are a total of 49,649 taxis in the country today, based on LTFRB records. More than half, or 27,622 units, are located in Metro Manila.