Davao City, Philippines – Starting December 1, a new fleet of taxis in Davao City will begin accepting digital payments, marking a significant shift towards modernizing public transportation in the region.
According to Philippines News Agency, operations manager of Mabuhay Taxi, an initial batch of 50 new black taxis will be equipped with QR PH, the Philippines' QR code standard for secure electronic payments. This move, aimed at enhancing passenger convenience and security, is part of the company's broader innovation strategy. Tan also revealed plans to extend this feature to their existing blue taxi fleet. Despite the technological upgrade, the flag-down rate for these new units will remain at PHP40.
Nonito Llanos III, director of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board in Davao Region (LTFRB-11), noted that Mabuhay Taxi is the only operator in the country authorized by the LTFRB to have black-colored taxis. Llanos acknowledged the potential interest from other operators in adopting similar innovations, stating that the LTFRB would consider applications for new taxi slots accordingly.