Hybrid Technologies Developing All-Electric Taxi for NYC
10 May 2006
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Electric PT Cruiser taxi. |
Hybrid Technologies, a manufacturer of lithium-ion-powered aftermarket conversions, plans to build a taxi version of its battery-powered PT Cruiser, pursuant to negotiations with the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC). The Taxi Commission will vote on this project at a scheduled commission meeting.
Once approved by all parties, the taxi will be in regular service operated by a fleet. New York City’s first hybrid taxis—a mini-fleet of six Ford Escape hybrids—officially entered operation in November 2005. (Earlier post.)
We still need to work with the Taxi Commission prior to placing this vehicle in service; however, so far we have received highly supportive feedback.
—Holly Roseberry, President of Hybrid Technologies
Hybrid Technologies is currently producing lithium PT Cruisers to serve as taxi units for Paratransit, a large, California-based transportation non-profit.
The lithium PT Cruisers use a 320V battery pack that weighs 272 kg (600 pounds) and offers a cycle life of more than 1,500 charges. The taxi has a range of up to 150 miles, and can be fully charged in 5–6 hours using a conventional 110 volt current, according to the company.
According to the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission, each New York taxi averages nearly 100,000 miles of driving annually.
One incentive for driving an EV is that the fuel costs $0.02 to $0.04 per mile, which is the equivalent of paying only $0.50 to $1.00 per gallon of gasoline. Consumers are complaining about paying $3.20 per gallon right now, which in a 25mpg vehicle is $0.132 per mile. When gasoline gets to $6/g, even switching to a Prius will still cost you $0.133 per mile, and consumers will still be complaining.
One problem today is that the cost of the battery packs; at $0.13 per mile they are not cheap today. This is one place where volume will make a big difference. While oil and gasoline will continue to climb in price, putting more EVs on the roads would greatly reduce that $0.13 per mile. Since there is so little other maintenance in an EV (tires and brakes basically -- no filters, no oil, no transmissions, no belts), the EV is already cheaper to drive today despite the cost of the batteries, but you end up paying the $0.13 per mile up front in the form of batteries. Most people wouldn't want to purchase a a car with 150,000 miles of fuel. What is needed is a way to pay for the batteries incrementally. We need a business model where a company delivers KWH and battery services incrementally.
(The marginal cost of my EV fuel is actually much lower than $0.02 per mile quoted above, since it comes from the PV on my roof. Sunlight is my fuel. But I did not write the above with that assumption.)
Posted by: Earl | 16 May 2006 at 06:30 AM
NYC is a congested city. If they want better surface mass transit they need to consider Skyweb Express (http://www.skywebexpress.com/).
It's cheap by comparison, gets you to where you are going non-stop, you don't have to ride with anyone else (like a taxi-cab ride) and at bus fare prices, you don't need taxpayer subsidies to maintain it unlike other transit systems. Not to mention that the car is usually waiting on you rather than you waiting on your ride.
I'm dying to see any metropolitan city pick it up.
Posted by: poweRob | 23 May 2006 at 02:47 PM
So how difficult would it be be to design and run a small Battery Trailer to extend the Range and even add a Diesel if necessary to run the AC or use the waste heat in Winter,similar to the articulated Buses running for Years now in Europe.
Posted by: HHN | 17 June 2006 at 04:50 PM
Try a tesla engine they run on "vacuuum energy" like the storne engine.
In fact it is rarified gas. The hydrogen version is the best it runs on fusion power. 3 micrograms of hydrogen in a boiling tube will run a 40 hp car for 10 hours.
It is the boltzman distributuion with the long mean free path means that these sponateous fusion events called "fluctuation noise" accumulate in a tuned circuit.
http://www.newelectriciy.co.uk/
Posted by: Christopher | 23 September 2006 at 10:24 AM
Sounds good but if you do the math: 100,000 miles driven annually divided 150 miles per charge equals: 667 charges. Divide 667 charges by 364 days (let's give Christmas off :) and you get: 1.8 (let's round up to 2), so you need to charge the battery 2 times a day every day of the year.
Given that a taxi shift is generally between 8-12 hours: 8 hour shift plus 6 hour charge on the low end, that's 14 hours times 2 is 28 hours... Obviously that isn't going to work on a 26 hour day and is even less practicable on a 12 hour shift.
The only way it could work would be to change out the battery after each shift but we're not talking about 1 battery but a group of batteries in series weighing the stated 600 lbs.
I hate to say it since I myself want desperately to drive an electric car but until charge times are on par with gas fill up times, electric won't be able to compete on such an intensive level as city taxis.
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Posted by: biagra | 02 August 2007 at 07:22 AM
I think that there should be several battery packs in the vehicle,.. they should be set up to where they can be switched from inside the vehicle by flicking a switch so it stays convenient. Why couldnt some of the "recharging" be done on solar power,.. either in the vehicle itself or recharging at a shop that provides solar power?
Posted by: Dawn | 06 September 2007 at 02:21 PM
Iam an electrical engineer, these comments aforesaid illustrate why electric cars are very difficult to design i working on a better design of vehicle to achieve the objective but using liquid fuel, i BELIEVE THAT CITY PEOPLE NEED TO BE EDUCATED TO USE TRAMS (street cars) America pulled them out 100 years ago It costly to put them back but cost has to be confronted, we in Melbourne had a chief commissioner of tramways a Mr Risson who challenged then state gov,t of Victoria, you pull trams out over my dead body,it worked we have trams some modern swedish low floor design which seem ok AND PUBLIC LIKE THEM, perhaps a job for local government, property owners get value added to property if trams available, old Melbourne had municipal trams before creation of MMTB AND FREE TRAM IS PERHAPS JUSTIFIED TO GET PEOPLE TO SHIFT MODE OF TRAVEL PETROL @8$/L IS FORECAST BY 2018 FOR AUSTRALIA America must confront expensive fuel
neville ford Dip EE (POWER)
Posted by: NEVILLE FORD | 16 August 2008 at 06:02 AM
Hybrid Technologies is currently producing lithium PT Cruisers to serve as taxi units for Paratransit. This blog have various contains for future uses. Thanks for posting.
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Posted by: Account Deleted | 18 December 2010 at 01:43 AM