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BBC:
Electric black taxis have hit London's roads under plans to improve air quality but critics say their cost will put drivers off "going green".
The cab costs £55,599 up from £45,000 for the newest petrol equivalent.
Chris Gubbey, boss of manufacturer the London Electric Vehicle Company (LEVC) insists the cab will "play a major role in helping to improve air quality".
The launch comes weeks ahead of rules requiring new cabs in the capital to be capable of emitting zero emissions.
More than 9,000 such taxis, roughly half the current black cab fleet, are expected on London's roads by 2021.
The £10K price difference should break even in two years of savings on fuel, less if maintenance costs are factored in. But will that make up for lost revenue from fares the cabs can't accept while recharging?
(Score: 3, Informative) by mojo chan on Wednesday December 06 2017, @08:34AM (5 children)
Charging is a non-issue for taxi companies that use Nissan Leafs. They have enough range to run all day with a rapid charge during lunch break if necessary, and a slow charge overnight. Even the original Leaf with an 80-100 mile realistic range around a city was more than enough.
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
(Score: 2) by bootsy on Wednesday December 06 2017, @10:53AM (1 child)
The Leaf cannot be used for a 3 reasons.
1) London Cabs need to be able to take 5 passengers as well as the driver.
2) London Cabs require a much smaller turning circle than conventional vehicles. London's Roads were not designed for motorised vehicles, some are Roman, some are medieval and some are Tudor, Georgian Victorian and Edwardian. They are just too narrow and there are some very sharp turns.
3) By law the boot/trunk has to be large enough to fit a bail of hay. Yes really.
(Score: 4, Informative) by pe1rxq on Wednesday December 06 2017, @11:29AM
The Leaf may not be useable as-is, but the post did make clear that the Leaf already proved that battery swaps are not needed at all.
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Wednesday December 06 2017, @03:49PM (2 children)
Interesting. I would have thought 80-100 miles wouldn't be enough, but I'm not involved in the taxi business so I really don't know how many miles/day they typically drive.
(Score: 2) by mojo chan on Wednesday December 06 2017, @04:38PM
They have legally mandated breaks anyway so there are actually plenty of opportunities to charge if needed.
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
(Score: 1) by toddestan on Saturday December 09 2017, @04:11PM
Well, if you assume they need to go 4 hours on a charge, that gives you an average speed of 20-25 MPH. That might get you by in New York City where speeds are low and (I'm guessing) most trips are not long distance. In other areas where a typical taxi ride might be "take me to the airport" which would involve 15-30 miles of mostly highway driving, I don't see it working.