What It Means
- The LTFRB denied motorcycle taxi accreditation to GrabBike and Dingdong RiderKo on October 12, 2026, citing failure to prove continued operation, active participation and compliance.
- Both platforms held 2,000 rider slots each in Central Luzon and Calabarzon, and no reassignment of those slots has been reported.
- The denial narrows the accredited field instead of moving slots to other platforms, and the 45,000 rider Metro Manila pool is untouched.
- Riders onboarded under the two platforms carry the loss, because a rider cannot work for more than one motorcycle taxi platform at a time.
- Maxim and Para Xpress, the other two platforms cleared for the regions in 2024, face the same review criteria.
The LTFRB turned down the motorcycle taxi accreditation bids of GrabBike and Dingdong RiderKo on October 12, 2026. The Board said neither platform could show continued operation, active participation and compliance during its pilot authority. Both had held 2,000 rider slots in Central Luzon and Calabarzon, and no reassignment of those slots has been reported.
Acting chairman Greg Pua Jr. said operating authority is a privilege that carries responsibilities. He tied the decision to Section 5 of DOTr Department Order No. 2026-006, which, as he described it, removes eligibility from platforms whose pilot authority has lapsed or that failed to stay active and compliant.
The Denial Removes Slots Instead of Moving Them
In 2024 the LTFRB cleared four platforms for Central Luzon and Calabarzon at 2,000 riders each. They were Maxim, Para Xpress, GrabBike and Dingdong. That made 8,000 regional slots, each tied to a named platform.
If Maxim and Para Xpress keep their allocations, motorcycle taxi accreditation in the two regions is left with half of its 2024 capacity. The public statement does not address that point.
The Metro Manila pool is a separate matter. It stays at 45,000 riders, split among Angkas at 23,164, Joyride at 15,000 and Move It at 6,836. This denial does not touch it.
Motorcycle Taxi Accreditation Is a Board Allocation, Not a Right
No permanent law governs motorcycle taxi accreditation. The service runs on DOTr Department Order No. 2026-006, issued in March 2026, with LTFRB Memorandum Circular No. 2026-048 setting the operating rules while Congress works on legislation. A department order can be rewritten by the department that issued it. A statute cannot.
In July the LTFRB said accreditation and rider authority depend on caps set by the Motorcycle Taxi Technical Working Group, and that no new players would be accepted. Read together, motorcycle taxi accreditation behaves like a fixed list that the Board can shorten on review and cannot lengthen by application. On that reading, a slot is something the Board allocates and can withdraw, and a platform holds it for as long as its review record allows.
The stated ground is narrower than a failure to operate. The Board found that the two platforms could not demonstrate continuous service, which is a finding about proof. Whether either platform actually stopped serving riders has not been reported, and no rider count has been published. Pua’s framing fits that reading. Authority described as a privilege can be reviewed and withdrawn on the Board’s schedule, while a right would need a statute behind it.
Grab Is Left With the Smaller Metro Manila Allocation
Grab Philippines bought Move It in 2022, and GrabBike was one of the four platforms added to the regional list in 2024. With GrabBike denied, motorcycle taxi accreditation under the Grab name rests on Move It. Move It holds 6,836 Metro Manila slots, the smallest of the three allocations, against 23,164 for Angkas and 15,000 for Joyride.
Maxim and Para Xpress Sit Under the Same Test
In May the LTFRB issued show cause orders to nine motorcycle taxi platform providers over discrepancies in authorized rider numbers, part of a probe covering 30 ride hailing firms. Nothing in the public notices says whether the two denied platforms were among the nine.
Maxim and Para Xpress, the other two names from the 2024 regional allocation, face the same stated criteria of continued operation, active participation and compliance. Their present status has not been confirmed in the notices behind this denial. If it stands, motorcycle taxi accreditation in Central Luzon and Calabarzon now rests on two platforms capped at 2,000 riders each.
Riders Carry the Cost of a Platform’s Failed Review
Under the circular, a rider and a motorcycle are tied to one accreditation under a platform provider, and a rider cannot work for more than one motorcycle taxi platform at a time. A rider whose platform loses motorcycle taxi accreditation cannot spread the loss across other apps.
The routes back are narrow because every route depends on motorcycle taxi accreditation that another platform holds. Metro Manila platforms can take riders only up to allocations fixed for that region. In Central Luzon and Calabarzon, the remaining routes are the other regional platforms, capped at 2,000 riders each if their authority stands. The review was of the platform. The loss of work falls on the riders onboarded under it.
Up to 4,000 rider slots held by the two denied platforms have not been reported as reassigned. Riders onboarded under them depend on motorcycle taxi accreditation held by at most two other regional platforms, 2,000 riders each, answering to the same review that just removed half the field.
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