Tuesday, July 15

Electric Taxi


The first electric powered taxi has been launched by Glasgow based Allied Vehicles which builds thousands of taxis each year, the new E7 taxi.

The electric taxi will be available from October 2008 and is the result of three years research and development by Allied, which is already looking for local authority partners to install recharging networks locally to help drive down urban emissions.

However, a recent snub by Transport for London’s taxi licensing division, the Public Carriage Office, means the UK’s first zero emission taxi will not be appearing on the capital’s streets anytime soon.

The E7 is powered entirely by cutting edge Lithium-ion batteries. These give the electric E7 a range of up to 100 miles from a single charge and a top speed of 60mph.

Producing no carbon, particulates or other pollutant emissions, the E7 is eligible for a 100% discount from vehicle excise duty, as well as lower daily running costs.

With rising fuel prices an increasing problem for taxi drivers, the electric E7 is cheaper to run than a traditional black cab. Allied’s confidence in the technology is underlined with batteries featuring a six-year warranty and the base vehicle boasting a two-year unlimited mileage Peugeot warranty.

The electric E7 also provides full wheelchair access. Thanks to its large rear-passenger area wheelchair users can enter the vehicle more easily and be turned into the correct position for travel, before being secured safely with high-quality wheelchair restraints and passenger seat belts.

“We’ve had a positive response to electric vehicles from many local authorities, both in the UK and in Europe. However it’s a shame that London looks set to miss out, especially since its famous taxi fleet is currently responsible for 4% of all emissions in the capital,” he added.

The E7 will cost £39,450. To put this into perspective, a London style black taxi based on a TX4 silver automatic is in the region of £35,455 on the road.
Sounds OK until you look at the mileage between recharges, myself and most drivers I know do a lot more then a measly 100 miles in a day. Plus in reality the top speed of 60MPH would feel like you were going backwards on the motorway. Nope come back when they can do 250miles and 80MPH and then maybe there would be some interest.

15 comments:

NYC taxi photo said...

agreed, sometimes advancing technology before it's ready, brings public awareness a few steps backwards. supposedly nyc had a lithium ion taxi in 2007 and it was a complete failure, i never even saw it. it didn't even manage a full day.

Anonymous said...

ive already been in 2 electric black cabs in london in the last 2 weeks
me thinks their info is wrong a bit

Anonymous said...

sounds like someone is at least on the right track.

bob mullen said...

anon:Wre you sure they weren't hybrids. The new TX4 black cab isn't supposed to be out yet.

Anonymous said...

It's a great development and I'm all for it but it's not entirely without environmental costs. Lithium is difficult to isolate and the process is energy-intensive.

bob mullen said...

enitharmon:The technology itself is ideal for domestic use but has a long way to go to be of any use in the taxi trade.

Anonymous said...

hi bob i can confirm the tx4 black cab has been going since its launch in october 2006 link here http://www.lti.co.uk/news/drivers-rush-to-buy-new-tx4-cab/

dont know what the make of the 2 electric ones i were in are called but there deffinatly NOT tx4's

Anonymous said...

Have you heard that you have to rent the battery for £480 a month?
they cant let you get away!

Anonymous said...

cont.
with no fuel tax

bob mullen said...

thomasthetaxi:aye just read about that.OH I will stick you a link on.

Anonymous said...

"Producing no carbon, particulates or other pollutant emissions" - are you including the power station in that calculation?

Unknown said...

Electric vehicles is a great alternative specially to save money and don´t waste a lot of money in fuel. Added to this help the evironment to keep it clean. I started in
costa rica investment opportunities
and i like the idea because it a country without too much pollution.

otmezger said...

Hi Bob,
I just wanted to tell you that we are creating a series of articles regarding electric taxis. I found your blog really interesting, and wanted to ask you if we could make a interview of your experiences. please contact me via http://www.green-and-energy.com/contact or via twitter (otmezger).

thank you very much!

Olmo

SK said...

Electric cars using the better place pay-per-mile model makes the most sense for a Taxi fleet.Along with benefits of EV we are building a mobility package that will include:

Unlimited Mileage
Maintenance
Computerised Dispatch
Free Wi-Fi
and shared advertising revenue

All this and my drivers will still save 1000-1500 per month.

For more information go to www.cabtricity.com

drupal support said...

cool this is one of the best alternatives to save mother earth and to save up from all those increasing price of gas..