Nice photos of LEAFs pulling taxi duty in Osaka!

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I wonder how many miles they do per day and how they charge it - do they charge after a few trips through out the day ?
 
mwalsh said:
evnow said:
I wonder how many miles they do per day and how they charge it - do they charge after a few trips through out the day ?

Better Place swapping, no?
It's my understanding that there are other electric taxis used for that system, and that the (current) LEAF is not compatible with battery swapping. The electric taxis currently in use for the Better Place trial are converted Nissan Rogues.

The LEAFs as taxis? I can only guess they have enough vehicles to have like two charging for every one on the road and swap the entire vehicle!
=Smidge=
 
1. The LEAF is not in ECO mode every time you start it up.

2. I am helping a friend pick up his Silver LEAF today, but he might
have it painted Blue, but a bit darker than the LEAF blue.

I will try to convince him to wait a bit before painting, at least
a month or so for this paint to really "dry".
 
They may be using L3 charging if required, and L2 overnight.

Are the rain gutters on the windows standard?, never noticed them before.
 
I'm an independent taxi driver in the UK and am slowly considering the Leaf! I presently have a Prius which is working fine, but the cost of fuel here has gone up £100 per month in the last year alone. Despite the lower range of the Leaf it MIGHT be worth considering if petrol goes up further.

Perhaps the 30 minute fast charger would make the Leaf viable as a cab? I simply charge it on my lunch break.
 
GrumpyCabbie said:
I'm an independent taxi driver in the UK and am slowly considering the Leaf! I presently have a Prius which is working fine, but the cost of fuel here has gone up £100 per month in the last year alone. Despite the lower range of the Leaf it MIGHT be worth considering if petrol goes up further.

Perhaps the 30 minute fast charger would make the Leaf viable as a cab? I simply charge it on my lunch break.
Or swap cars during the day. Keep your Prius, take it for long fares or when you have the LEAF charging.
 
I expect a Nissan LEAF, using DC charging to 80% capacity, would probably have lower total operating cost than most ICEV vehicles that size, in Japan.

Remember, used as an urban taxi, in heavy traffic, at low average speed, loading and unloading, waiting at pick-up points (as in photos) LEAF charging downtime is probably only 25 minutes every two to four hours, during which the driver can load up on-ramen?

I got a kick out of the photo of the driver wearing a suit and white gloves. I expect that's not the cab driver dress code in too many US cities...
 
Leaf in the news:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/capitalbusiness/arlington-cab-company-adds-electric-taxi-to-its-fleet/2012/10/19/edad54f4-17c5-11e2-a55c-39408fbe6a4b_story.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Arlington cab company adds electric taxi to its fleet

Five years after introducing hybrid taxis to Arlington, EnviroCab is adding a plug-in electric vehicle to its fleet.

The company’s new Nissan Leaf, which has been on the road for about two weeks, is one of the first electric taxis (the company claims the very first) to be introduced to the Washington area.

“It has been very popular,” said Cord Thomas, co-founder of EnviroCab. “People have started to call and ask for it specifically.”

Depending on how things go in coming months, Thomas said the company may add more electric vehicles to its collection of 50 cars.

“I want to get a sense of its ability and its range first,” he said. “But so far, it’s very smooth — there’s no gear-shifting or anything, you just zoom.”

The company paid about $36,000 for the car — about $10,000 more than what it spends on its hybrid cabs — and spent $6,000 installing a charging station at its offices on Columbia Pike.

“When we first got the hybrids, we heard from a lot of interested customers who wanted to just try them out without sales pressure,” he said. “We’re hoping that with the Leaf out there, the same thing will happen.”

Customers are charged the same standard rate for a ride in the electric vehicle as they are for other taxis in Arlington.

Thomas said he hasn’t calculated how much money the company will save on gas, but said he expects the purchase to be worthwhile in the long run.

The car is charged two times a day — once overnight and again halfway through the day. Even then, its range is limited to roughly an 80-mile radius, Thomas said.

“Going to and from Dulles Airport — it wouldn’t be a vehicle we could use for that,” he said. “But to go to Reagan Airport or taking people to the local restaurant scene or bar scene, it’s perfect for that.”

Three drivers currently take turns driving the Nissan Leaf. Each driver pays a fee that helps cover the car’s monthly payment of $1,000.

Thomas said the company’s co-founder, Hans Hess — the two also started the Elevation Burger chain in 2005 — came up with the idea to add an electric vehicle to EnviroCab’s fleet a few years ago.

“People don’t always think it’s the prettiest vehicle,” Thomas said, “but it stands out — and that’s important for a cab.”
 
The rather odd source of the report might suggest skepticism, IMO:

A futuristic-looking fleet of all-electric cabs may soon be plugged in and driving on the streets of Arlington, Virginia, near the nation's capital, a sign the environmentally-friendly vehicles are slowly catching on as a viable means of transportation in the US.

"No one has really taken the first step to do this," said Malik Khattak, founder of Electric Vehicle Taxicab Company, who has proposed a fleet of 40, all-electric Nissan Leaf cars he says will be the first taxicab fleet of its kind in the US...

If the plan is approved, the company has pledged to install 56 charging stations in its service area, which would charge the cars in under 30 minutes and allow them to operate 24 hours a day.

The service stations could address one concern customers have expressed about buying and driving the electric cars: there aren't currently enough places to plug them in.

Khattak wants the community to have access to the charging stations, a move that may encourage people to give them a go.

More exposure to electric cars, "is a way to build consumer awareness and comfort with the new technology", said Genevieve Cullen, vice president of the Elective Drive Transportation Association, which promotes electric transportation in the US.

http://zeenews.india.com/business/automobiles/automania/first-all-electric-taxi-fleet-could-hit-roads-in-us_62781.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 
Herm said:
They may be using L3 charging if required, and L2 overnight.

Are the rain gutters on the windows standard?, never noticed them before.


I've been wanting to buy these window guards for a year now; anyone got a contact in Japan that can grab some of these? no luck on finding any source online.
 
GrumpyCabbie said:
I'm an independent taxi driver in the UK and am slowly considering the Leaf! I presently have a Prius which is working fine, but the cost of fuel here has gone up £100 per month in the last year alone. Despite the lower range of the Leaf it MIGHT be worth considering if petrol goes up further.

Perhaps the 30 minute fast charger would make the Leaf viable as a cab? I simply charge it on my lunch break.

Am I correct in assuming you didn't pull the trigger on this?

I can't imagine using a leaf as a taxi with no announced price or availablity for battery pack replacement.

When the range becomes limited would you be willing to recharge multiple times per shift? Or are you thinking just use it for a year or two and then sell it?
 
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