Nissan Leaf as a taxi

Padraig Mor · 12-12-2016 9:03pm

KCross wrote: »

He can only get 100km's or so, anything beyond that and he is cutting it fine. So unless he is happy to do only a few fares a day he is going to have to charge at least 2-3 times a day for 20-30mins. While charging is free he is fine but as soon as charging for charging comes in his business model is going to be very different!

I've seen him at the Frankfield charger a few times. I dont know if there are others in Cork but a 24kWh Leaf isnt suitable for Taxi work. It only works now because charging is free.

There are a few other Leaf Taxis in the Dublin area. I saw one at the Stillorgan charger and I think there is one in Gorey?

There's two in Cork that I know of - one red, one black. Driver of black one is sound.

Padraig Mor · 12-12-2016 9:05pm

BoatMad wrote: »

one in Gorey abuses the charger , ultimately the pricing model will kill EV taxis

It would nearly be worth bringing in 'charging for charging' just to (hopefully) put that prick out of business - especially given claims today on Facebook that he unplugs actively charging cars to plug his own in (which he then abandons).

KCross · 12-12-2016 10:39pm

Padraig Mor wrote: »

There's two in Cork that I know of - one red, one black. Driver of black one is sound.

There must be 3 so as the one I saw was neither of those colours.
I spoke to the guy I saw, he was sound too. Wasn't pushy about getting me off and waited for me to finish. Can't see how they will make it work when charging comes in though. They will be left with a car they can't use for their business. Back to ICE I suppose.

Padraig Mor wrote: »

It would nearly be worth bringing in 'charging for charging' just to (hopefully) put that prick out of business - especially given claims today on Facebook that he unplugs actively charging cars to plug his own in (which he then abandons).

How does he do that? Isn't it locked by the charger and only the owners card can unlock it? Unless he is hitting the emergency stop button, which would be a major abuse that should get him banned.

DrPhilG · 13-12-2016 2:13am

KCross wrote: »

How does he do that? Isn't it locked by the charger and only the owners card can unlock it? Unless he is hitting the emergency stop button, which would be a major abuse that should get him banned.

That's exactly what he does.

Apparently he doesn't even bother his hole using his card to stop his own charge, he is so lazy he just uses the red button!

But using the red button to interrupt others while they're away is the worst abuse of the infrastructure I've heard of yet. This guy seems like a real piece of crap.

n97 mini · 13-12-2016 3:17am

KCross wrote: »

How does he do that? Isn't it locked by the charger and only the owners card can unlock it? Unless he is hitting the emergency stop button, which would be a major abuse that should get him banned.

A couple of people have claimed he's knocked them off using the emergency stop button.

When the card reader accepts even Leap cards, there's not a lot can be done.

KCross · 13-12-2016 10:24am

DrPhilG wrote: »

That's exactly what he does.

Apparently he doesn't even bother his hole using his card to stop his own charge, he is so lazy he just uses the red button!

But using the red button to interrupt others while they're away is the worst abuse of the infrastructure I've heard of yet. This guy seems like a real piece of crap.

n97 mini wrote: »

A couple of people have claimed he's knocked them off using the emergency stop button.

When the card reader accepts even Leap cards, there's not a lot can be done.

Jeez! Thats ridiculous. He should get a ban for that. I presume eCars know about him? They should be able to track his usage via his card.

The fact other cards work might make that difficult if he is clever enough not to use his own card.

He should be reported either way. Charging for charging will take care of him but thats a double edged sword! He's an exception, I hope!

BoatMad · 13-12-2016 5:24pm

Padraig Mor wrote: »

It would nearly be worth bringing in 'charging for charging' just to (hopefully) put that prick out of business - especially given claims today on Facebook that he unplugs actively charging cars to plug his own in (which he then abandons).

yes , while it might be a nice dose of Schadenfreude, its not what we need at this stage to develop the EV business.

Simple time based limits based on the smart card would easily sort these guys out

darragh o meara · 16-12-2016 2:32am

EVs as taxis are a great idea. I seen Teslas being used as Taxis in Amsterdam earlier in the year. They looked the business but was thinking they must have some form of charging strategy to keep them running all the time.

Could a taxi driver here have 2 EVs, use one while the other is plugged into a fast charger then swap over as needed??

DrPhilG · 16-12-2016 9:23am

darragh o meara wrote: »

Could a taxi driver here have 2 EVs, use one while the other is plugged into a fast charger then swap over as needed??

Thereby permanently blocking the FCP as one or other car will always be there?

Padraig Mor · 16-12-2016 9:56am

darragh o meara wrote: »

EVs as taxis are a great idea. I seen Teslas being used as Taxis in Amsterdam earlier in the year. They looked the business but was thinking they must have some form of charging strategy to keep them running all the time.

Could a taxi driver here have 2 EVs, use one while the other is plugged into a fast charger then swap over as needed??

DrPhilG wrote: »

Thereby permanently blocking the FCP as one or other car will always be there?

AFAIK our buddy in Gorey has two Leafs and does exactly this - drive one while the other is charging.

jerryg · 16-12-2016 1:03pm

I have been inconvenienced by our friend in Gorey on 2 occasions and Gorey is an important hub in the South East as it is the last port for a fast charge on the way to Wexford and Rosslare .
I have reported him but there does not appear to be anything they
(E.S.B e cars) can do!

KCross · 16-12-2016 2:04pm

jerryg wrote: »

I have been inconvenienced by our friend in Gorey on 2 occasions and Gorey is an important hub in the South East as it is the last port for a fast charge on the way to Wexford and Rosslare .
I have reported him but there does not appear to be anything they
(E.S.B e cars) can do!

Would a dose of his own medicine help? i.e. unplug him?

DrPhilG · 16-12-2016 2:16pm

KCross wrote: »

Would a dose of his own medicine help? i.e. unplug him?

I'm not in the area, but I've advocated that a few times on Facebook. If I lived in or near Gorey I would make a point of going to the charger every time I'm near it and unplugging him.

Someone did suggest that this wasn't advisable since I would have to push the emergency stop button, but since that seems to be his process anyway (for his own car as well as any other he deems to be in his way) I don't see any issue!

darragh o meara · 17-12-2016 1:12am

DrPhilG wrote: »

Thereby permanently blocking the FCP as one or other car will always be there?

The idea would be to have your own charge point and not use shared chargers.

BoatMad · 17-12-2016 2:12am

darragh o meara wrote: »

The idea would be to have your own charge point and not use shared chargers.

I doubt a taxi man , will install a 40Kw fast charger and the necessary ESB power supply and space needed etc !!!!, you are probably talking 100K euros here , thats a lot of diesel !!!

gctest50 · 17-12-2016 2:34am

jerryg wrote: »

I have been inconvenienced by our friend in Gorey on 2 occasions and Gorey is an important hub in the South East as it is the last port for a fast charge on the way to Wexford and Rosslare .
I have reported him but there does not appear to be anything they
(E.S.B e cars) can do!

They could always put in another charge point beside/near it

BoatMad · 17-12-2016 3:01am

gctest50 wrote: »

They could always put in another charge point beside/near it

no power space or money , so unlikely , equally ESB installing a FCP merely because an individual is abusing one nearby , is rather ridiculous

gctest50 · 17-12-2016 3:51am

More FCPs = more people will buy EVs

DrPhilG · 17-12-2016 8:51am

gctest50 wrote: »

They could always put in another charge point beside/near it

So then taxi prick can plug both in when he's off duty?

Great craic.

pwurple · 17-12-2016 8:51am

There are 3 leaf taxis in cork that I know of. The one who charges at the petrol station by kinsale road is who i bump into in the middle of the night.

He has an older leaf than the 24kw or 30kw models, so just about the 100k range at this stage. He fast charges 4 or 5 times a night. Seems like the absolute worst way to introduce the public to EVs, there are bog standard models with more than double that range.

I see an EV as being very suitable for an inner city taxi in general. Short runs, traffic, ideal. But surely to goodness the larger range ones make more sense. Induction chargers in ranks might be a future state model.

I guess this fella can't justify the spend of buying a new one for his own comfort (less charges required per night).

DrPhilG · 17-12-2016 8:54am

pwurple wrote: »

There are 3 leaf taxis in cork that I know of. The one who charges at the petrol station by kinsale road is who i bump into in the middle of the night.

So Kinsale taxi man abuses the network.

Gorey taxi man abuses the network.

Strabane taxi man abuses the network. He parks and abandons in Lifford for hours, gets another driver to take him home!

So safe to say I wouldn't be a fan of EV taxis, unless they had their own chargers.

isnottheword · 17-12-2016 5:34pm

DrPhilG wrote: »

So Kinsale taxi man abuses the network.

Gorey taxi man abuses the network.

Strabane taxi man abuses the network. He parks and abandons in Lifford for hours, gets another driver to take him home!

So safe to say I wouldn't be a fan of EV taxis, unless they had their own chargers.

I'm not near any of those locations but why not make a statement and press that emergency stop button on a sustained basis if some of you are in the area? In fairness to Ecars, they can't do a whole lot until charging for charging is introduced (given that anyone can access the network with various non-ecar cards).

The first taxi/cab company in UK to adopt EV in a big way - down in Cornwall have their own rapid charger.

Gumbo · 17-12-2016 6:34pm

darragh o meara wrote: »

EVs as taxis are a great idea. I seen Teslas being used as Taxis in Amsterdam earlier in the year. They looked the business but was thinking they must have some form of charging strategy to keep them running all the time.

Could a taxi driver here have 2 EVs, use one while the other is plugged into a fast charger then swap over as needed??

Insurance and taxi Licence fees would be a nightmare.

discostu1 · 17-12-2016 8:29pm

pwurple wrote: »

There are 3 leaf taxis in cork that I know of. The one who charges at the petrol station by kinsale road is who i bump into in the middle of the night.

He has an older leaf than the 24kw or 30kw models, so just about the 100k range at this stage. He fast charges 4 or 5 times a night. Seems like the absolute worst way to introduce the public to EVs, there are bog standard models with more than double that range.

I see an EV as being very suitable for an inner city taxi in general. Short runs, traffic, ideal. But surely to goodness the larger range ones make more sense. Induction chargers in ranks might be a future state model.

I guess this fella can't justify the spend of buying a new one for his own comfort (less charges required per night).

I play soccer in Leisureworld Bishopstown on a Monday Night around 6.30pm there is nearly always a Taxi ( I think its a Leaf) charging there, its still there when I leave at 8.00pm ish The other night there was a beautiful white BMW 161C also charging

isnottheword · 17-12-2016 8:34pm

discostu1 wrote: »

I play soccer in Leisureworld Bishopstown on a Monday Night around 6.30pm there is nearly always a Taxi ( I think its a Leaf) charging there, its still there when I leave at 8.00pm ish The other night there was a beautiful white BMW 161C also charging

Emergency stop on the taxi - end of.

gctest50 · 17-12-2016 9:37pm

pwurple wrote: »

....................

I see an EV as being very suitable for an inner city taxi in general. Short runs, traffic, ideal. But surely to goodness the larger range ones make more sense. Induction chargers in ranks might be a future state model.

.......................

You'd be crazy not to have a bunch of EVs

THE NISSAN LEAF that sparked an electric taxi revolution in Cornwall has clocked up its 100,000th mile without losing a single bar of battery life*.

‘Wizzy’ as it was named by St Austell-based operators C&C Taxis, hit the milestone in the course of more than 25,000 pure electric paying fares and having been rapid charged over 1,700 times.

The distance it’s covered since entering service in July 2013 is equivalent to 100 round trips from the company’s base in Cornwall to Glasgow, more than four times around the world or almost half the distance to the moon.

But, despite living the same punishing life as any modern day taxi, Wizzy retains near full battery health and, incredibly, is still on its first set of brake pads.

Inspired by Wizzy’s performance, C&C Taxis now operates five further 100% electric Nissan LEAFs and an all-electric Nissan e-NV200 Combi.

Mark Richards, Fleet Manager at C&C Taxis, estimates that each vehicle saves the business around £8,500 per year in fuel bills and maintenance costs.

He said: “When we speak to other taxi operators they often tell us range and battery life are the biggest factors preventing them from considering an electric taxi.

“Then, when we tell them Wizzy’s done 100,000 miles and still has full battery health, they’re left speechless.”

A Cornwall cab company has clocked up 150,000 miles and more than 37,000 individual fares in its fleet of 100 per cent electric Nissan Leaf taxis.

St Austell-based C&C Taxis – the first cab operator in the county to employ a pure electric vehicle – added the first Leaf to its 10-strong fleet almost exactly 12 months ago.

It now has five and has seen its business soar as regular customers, local businesses and tourists have taken to its smooth and silent ride and environmental benefits.

Meanwhile the company has slashed in excess of £40,000 off its annual fuel bill thanks to the Leaf’s ultra-low running costs of around two pence per mile.

C&C Taxis owner, Michelle Williams, said: “When we took our first Leaf a year ago we could never have imagined how successful it would have been. The fact we now have five and have hit the 150,000-mile mark says it all.

“Investing in the Leaf has probably been the best decision we’ve ever made as a company.

“Our customers love them and most of the big hotels in the area now use us as their taxi company of choice, which has been a real coup. In fact, many of the hotels now ask guests who book a taxi whether they’d like an electric one and then specifically ask for a Leaf.

“The Leaf has been truly transformational for our business.”

The company still operates a number of diesel cars for longer fares but very much sees electric vehicles as its future.

Williams added: “Most of our business is done in and around St Austell but we use the Leafs for fares up to 40 miles away all the time. They can easily get there and back and all the driver needs to do is give it a quick charge when he’s back in town.

DrPhilG · 18-12-2016 9:30am

isnottheword wrote: »

I'm not near any of those locations but why not make a statement and press that emergency stop button on a sustained basis if some of you are in the area?

I've said the same a number of times. I'm not in the area either though.

Unnecessary use of the emergency stop button is bad for the charger but this fool uses it regularly himself because he's too lazy to swipe his card to stop charging.

Nissan Leaf as a taxi

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