You'll soon have a one-in-15,000 chance of hailing an all-electric taxi when in Tokyo.
The electric-vehicle entrepreneurs at Better Place have announced a partnership with Tokyo's largest taxi fleet, Nihon Kotsu, to conduct a pilot project that will supply "up to four" prototype electric cabs to a city that currently houses 60, …
Given how much battery tech is made/comes from Japan
This seems a pretty good thing for the Japanese government to support.
Given the time is money / time off the road costs money thinking behind taxi firms the swappable pack would seem the right way to go. Better chemistry comes along all packs upgrade in a day. Accept vehicles will (for the time being) outlive the pack and swap it out as it fails.
Break down failing battery into its cells and re-cycle good ones back to new batteriers?
Its a start. A small one, but the Japanese have shown they like to start that way. Japanese cars first appeared in Sweden and Finland. They are rather more widely available now.
... is a business and entertainment district. It's neither a shopping district nor is it trendy, let alone "ubertrendy", unless you call expats in suits looking for a binge trendy. Come to Tokyo to check yourself.
Seriously, this is the sort of use that electric vehicles are ideal for. lots of stop-start motoring in heavy congestion with long periods sat at idle waiting for the lights to change.
Add into this a potential to improve air quality in the city it really is a no brainer.
proof of concept has been around for 50 years in the form of the milk float.
The only trial here is the quick change battery pack. If that proves reliable and has enough capacity for continuous use without having to go back to base every 5 minutes, I can't see any cab driver having any problems with this at all
"We need to find a better transportation energy platform...one that does not depend on magic liquids bubbling up from the bottom of our oceans and spews the carbon so neatly stored in the ground back into the atmosphere."
Thus, we conclude that we now have a magical way of obtaining electricity for charging those swapped out batteries that does not depend on magical carbon storing liquids or solids. Or without even inundating vast tracts of land under water.
Certainly, this would clean up the air in the cities. But I disagree with the founder's sentiment there.
I always thought you only used apostrophe's on possessives when they pertained to humans (or organics, at least). Or is this one of those "two countries separated by a common language" gas/petrol sort of things?
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You'll soon have a one-in-15,000 chance of hailing an all-electric taxi when in Tokyo. The electric-vehicle entrepreneurs at Better Place have announced a partnership with Tokyo's largest taxi fleet, Nihon Kotsu, to conduct a pilot project that will supply "up to four" prototype electric cabs to a city that currently houses 60, …
Given how much battery tech is made/comes from Japan
This seems a pretty good thing for the Japanese government to support.
Given the time is money / time off the road costs money thinking behind taxi firms the swappable pack would seem the right way to go. Better chemistry comes along all packs upgrade in a day. Accept vehicles will (for the time being) outlive the pack and swap it out as it fails.
Break down failing battery into its cells and re-cycle good ones back to new batteriers?
Its a start. A small one, but the Japanese have shown they like to start that way. Japanese cars first appeared in Sweden and Finland. They are rather more widely available now.
Roppongi...
... is a business and entertainment district. It's neither a shopping district nor is it trendy, let alone "ubertrendy", unless you call expats in suits looking for a binge trendy. Come to Tokyo to check yourself.
The optimum way of using battery power
Seriously, this is the sort of use that electric vehicles are ideal for. lots of stop-start motoring in heavy congestion with long periods sat at idle waiting for the lights to change.
Add into this a potential to improve air quality in the city it really is a no brainer.
proof of concept has been around for 50 years in the form of the milk float.
The only trial here is the quick change battery pack. If that proves reliable and has enough capacity for continuous use without having to go back to base every 5 minutes, I can't see any cab driver having any problems with this at all
Paris? Well it would work in that city as well
They're inscrutable
I tried it once and got nowhere.
Roppongi
I went there once... I wouldn't go back lol. If you want trendy hit Shibuya.
"Gas powered vehicles"?
Which gas do they use? Hydrogen? LPG?
Oh, you mean 'petrol'....
A title is required
"We need to find a better transportation energy platform...one that does not depend on magic liquids bubbling up from the bottom of our oceans and spews the carbon so neatly stored in the ground back into the atmosphere."
Thus, we conclude that we now have a magical way of obtaining electricity for charging those swapped out batteries that does not depend on magical carbon storing liquids or solids. Or without even inundating vast tracts of land under water.
Certainly, this would clean up the air in the cities. But I disagree with the founder's sentiment there.
</rant>
@Manas Straw
They use a vast amount of nuclear power.
This post has been deleted by a moderator
Funny, but...
I always thought you only used apostrophe's on possessives when they pertained to humans (or organics, at least). Or is this one of those "two countries separated by a common language" gas/petrol sort of things?
taxi drivers are going to hate this OR it will not really work
Around my nick of the woods taxi drivers let their engines idle because they want the airco going.
It is common to see an idling taxi with the driver taking a nap for 30 minutes. I wonder if these electric taxis have airco or not.