Taxi Driver Online

Transport minister launches Dundee electric taxi fleet



A fleet of 30 pure-electric Nissan Leafs has been launched in the city of Dundee.

The vehicles, operated by 203020 Electric – part of the Tele Taxis Group – are now in 24-7 service.

Derek Mackay MSP, the Scottish Government’s Minister for transport and the islands, took the first journey around City Square.

He was joined at an official launch event by executives from Transport Scotland, the Energy Saving Trust, Dundee City Council and Nissan – organisations that have all invested and advised on the project.

Welcoming the vehicles into service, Mackay said: “The Scottish Government is committed to improving air quality in our towns and cities – that is why we have been delighted to support this ambitious project as part of our overall investment of £17 million in a range of low carbon vehicles initiatives over the past two years.

“Bold initiatives such as this offer a visible demonstration that this transformation is already happening and I am delighted to be able to experience these vehicles at first hand by taking a ride in one today.

“A journey in one of these taxis may well be the first encounter many members of the public will have with an electric vehicle, helping to raise awareness that there are viable alternatives to petrol and diesel cars.

“In addition to the environmental benefits and fuel savings, the smoothness and quietness of a ride in these taxis will undoubtedly be appreciated by drivers and passengers alike.”

Tele Taxis / 203020 Electric plans to replace its entire 60-vehicle fleet with more Nissan Leafs and the larger Nissan e-NV200 Combi over the next 12 months.

A bank of five rapid chargers has been installed at the taxi company’s HQ in Isla Street to keep the new fleet topped up and in constant service around the clock. The chargers, funded by Transport Scotland’s ChargePlace Scotland project, are all available for public use and currently free to charge from.

David Young, owner of 203020 Electric, said: “There are big financial benefits to operating a fleet of electric taxis but that is not the main driver behind our decision to go down this route.

“Dundee is a city with some of the worst air pollution in the country and this initiative puts us at the forefront of efforts to improve that.

“The environmental benefits of running these pure electric vehicles will make a real difference for the people of Dundee.”

Will Dawson, convener of Dundee City Council's city development committee said: "Every time anyone in the city chooses to use an electric taxi instead of a conventionally powered vehicle they will know they are making an active contribution to the city's economy by supporting local innovative thinking.

"This initiative will make a difference to the quality of air for the people of Dundee by reducing the amount of carbon dioxide compared with what would be generated by a taxi powered by a petrol or diesel engine."

source: http://www.fleetnews.co.uk/news/2015/3/ ... eet/55194/

_________________
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

Im sure it's not...nor will it be purely about the health of the planet either.

Real World Leaf Range 27 - 38 miles

I've been giving a lot of thought to the fact that Nissan clearly fell short of expectations with the Leaf's range. While I blame it heavily on being oversold by the likes of my well-intentioned yet dangerous friend Paul Scott who can't keep quiet about the "100 mile range" that he gets while crawling 28 miles each day in the slow lane, in the temperate west side of LA, proudly hypermiling.
As a start, let's just look at what it means to take care of your battery. This means don't charge it to more than ~80% of capacity and don't discharge below 20%.
- This takes the 73 mile range down to 73 X 80% X 80% or 46.7 miles
Next, let's assume that after 7 years, the capacity is expected to be down to 80% of the new, maximum.
- This takes the 46.7 miles down to 46.7 X 80% or 37.4 miles for 'battery-kindness"
What this means is that if you drive the benign EPA driving cycle, you shouldn't buy a Leaf if you expect to need to drive more than 37.4 miles between charges every day. Conveniently, for me, my daily drive between charging opportunities is 37 miles
The question people really want to know, however, is what normal people will get. Then the question becomes: What is normal. Let me suggest that one view of normal that Paul Scott, for example sees daily are the 99.9% of the people on I-10 that are driving faster than Paul Scott. Let me dock the range by another 80% due to driving a lot faster.
- This take the 37.4 mile battery-kind range down to 37.4 X 80% = 30 miles

Now, if you're in a place other than the California beach areas that have real temperatures, you'll need to knock it down another 10% for heavy A/C or heag
- This takes the 30 miles down to 30 X 90% = 27 miles

This also means your commute, without charging at work, needs to be less than ~13 miles each way.

http://www.plugincars.com/real-world-leaf-range-27-38-miles.html


Sounds like recipe for financial disaster..

great the first time a punter jumps in and asks you to go to Edinburgh or Glasgow

It'll take you a week.

If they are being run as Private Hire, a punter can't just jump in. They would have pre booked the journey and a car suitable for the job would be sent.

_________________
Grandad,

_________________
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

Ahh..so the Jobs are allocated around the vehicles range rather than the clients needs.

And give Dundee the largest purely electric taxi fleet with the smallest sphere of operational influence...what they going to do, book onward Taxi/PH companies to take their clients final destination once they leave the city limits?

No the jobs would be allocated to the clients needs. If they wanted to go further than the range of the vehicle the company would not send that type of vehicle. It isn't rocket science. No different than sending a wheelchair accessible vehicle to a job that requires a wheelchair accessible vehicle. you wouldn't sent the wrong vehicle.

_________________
Grandad,

Err..but if all their fleet are all Pure Electric taxis as suggested then they would end up have nothing else up their sleeve to send, hence the Jobs would have to fit the Vehicles range limits....therewould be no other type of vehicle available, it's Leccy or nowt.

You Have it your way then but in the real world you know full well that there will be other vehicles available.

_________________
Grandad,

But not theirs...Cant be if they as they say want a purely electric vehicle fleet. If they do as they say in their propaganda speil then thats all they will have, the guys just playing to a Council that can only see shades of green and no other colour because they want to appear trendy..if they were a truly green operator then they wouldnt have a seperate sub Division trading as 203020 Electric. It's just a concerted ploy to appear Green when in fact the rest of your fleet business is running Oil Burners just like everyone else.

utter keech,pirating is as rife in dundee as it is in every city

_________________
i started out with nothing and ive still got most of it left

Had a look at one the other day, no room for any more than 1 large and small case, no rear leg room except for kids, and the guy said he does 100 miles between half hour charges