Taxi Driver Online

Tokyo Taxis To Trial Battery Switch System

August 26th, 2009

Tokyo taxis will be the first in the world to test new electric-car batteries that can be replaced in less time than it takes to fill up the petrol tank, the firm behind the system said Wednesday.

Up to four electric taxis will take part in the trial of the new technology, which enables a depleted battery to be replaced with a fully charged one in about a minute, California-based Better Place announced.

The vehicles, operated by Tokyo's largest taxi operator Nihon Kotsu, will run from the Roppongi Hills shopping and office complex in the Japanese capital from January next year, under a trial commissioned by the government.

The system, which removes the depleted battery from the underside of the vehicle and replaces it with another one, was designed to spare electric car users the hassle of waiting around while a battery is recharged.

The trial comes amid growing interest in fuel-efficient cars. Nissan plans to start selling its first all electric car in late 2010 in Japan, the United States, and Europe. It will lease the battery separately.

Better Place, launched in 2007 by entrepreneur Shai Agassi, is also teaming up with companies or governments in Israel, Denmark, Australia, the United States and Canada to promote the use of electric vehicles.

Source; physorg.com


ALSO;


Better Place to Test Battery Swap Stations With Taxis in Tokyo

Aug. 26 (Bloomberg)

Better Place, a U.S. developer of electric-car charging stations, will partner with a Japanese taxi company to test the feasibility of battery-swapping in Tokyo next year as it seeks to expand operations worldwide.

Better Place will use three battery-powered taxis, converted from gasoline-powered cars, and build a swapping station in the city to study battery deterioration, driving range, and timing for swapping, it said in a statement today.

The California-based venture aims to be the first developer of electric-car infrastructure and will start operating 100 battery exchange stations in Israel next year. Better Place hopes to “electrify” all taxis in Tokyo and build 100 charging stations in the next decade, Masamune Mimura, vice president of the company’s local unit, said at a press conference today.

Better Place also plans to target car-rental and car- sharing businesses, he said.

The Tokyo project, to be undertaken from January to March, will be funded by Japan’s Agency for Natural Resources and Energy, Better Place said.

Source; Bloomberg.com

_________________
Kind regards,

Brummie Cabbie.

Type a message, post your news,
Disagree with other members' views;
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Now this might just work; except can you imagine the number of batteries each battery swap staion would have to keep in stock if all the cars on the roads were electric?

_________________
Kind regards,

Brummie Cabbie.

Type a message, post your news,
Disagree with other members' views;
But please, do have some decorum,
When debating on the TDO Forum.

When they change the battery will that then be recharged on site and put into another vehicle or is it going to have to be taken away to be recharged

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Note to self: Just because it pops into my head does NOT mean it should come out of my mouth!!

Dont worry Toots, you can still get emergency ones from pound-land
Unless you have invested in the Hitachi wand
http://www.hitachi--magic--wand.com/

They will have to scrape you off the ceiling every morning if you get one and don't forget the attachments

Well they haven't had to scrape me off the ceiling as yet

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Note to self: Just because it pops into my head does NOT mean it should come out of my mouth!!

What you have not gone to infinity and beyond yet

Try it on max then you will

You're way to nosey but to put you out of your misery I have indeed been to infinity and beyond but not by using one of those

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Note to self: Just because it pops into my head does NOT mean it should come out of my mouth!!

It will be a great idea when electricity can be scouped up out of the air, tgh I welcome oil alternatives, but this isn't really one, the [edited by admin] can either come out of your exhaust direct or it can come out of a power station, the poluution is still there isn't it.

The only true green alternative to cars are bicycles. Just think if they taxed parents for unnecessarily driving their kids to school that'd help even if only a little bit

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Note to self: Just because it pops into my head does NOT mean it should come out of my mouth!!