EV as taxi – is it realistic or not?

Can an electric vehicle be a viable alternative as a taxi?

A couple of days ago we wrote an article about the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) using the Nissan LEAF in a pilot program to evaluate its viability as a taxi for the citizens of New York City. We recieved an interesting comment from a reader that required a more thorough response than just a few words in the comment section, so we decided to devote another post to the topic, especially due to the potential importance of the issue. Here is the comment that we received:

I cannot imagine how this is considered a good idea. I would imagine most taxi drivers in NYC drive more than ~70 miles per day, which would place them at the extended end of the LEAF’s range. Add to this the fact that cars are often shared in shifts (i.e. never get downtime), thus leaving no time for charging. And given that drivers are not supposed to be able to decline a ride to any location within the 5 boroughs, this experiment is going to be over pretty quickly.

One thing that we love to do is research. With all of the points raised in this one comment, we saw a wonderful opportunity to dig into the web and see what we could find out. So let’s start with the first point – that most NYC taxi cab drivers drive more than 70 miles per day.

According to research provided by the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) television show Taxi Dreams, in 2001 taxi drivers averaged 180 miles in a 12 hour shift. Current TLC rules state:

§58-20 Operations – Responsibilities with Respect to Drivers
(a) Hours of Operation
(1) Double Shift Requirement. A Fleet or Minifleet must operate each of its operating Taxicabs for a minimum of two nine-hour shifts per day (for a total operating time of 18 hours per day) including weekends and holidays.

We would expect that the mileage covered in a nine hour shift would be less than that covered during a 12 hour shift in 2001. As we have reported many times, the average distance offered by the the LEAF depends dramatically on its use, its load, and the way in which its being driven. A highly urban environment, such as that offered by NYC, is more conducive to greater range as the vehicle is operated at low speeds or is stopped for long periods at a time. Mileage is reduced with higher speeds and loads. If the taxi is loaded with just one driver and one passenger and operated primarily in an urban environment (an expectation which is probably accurate for a majority of NYC taxis), we would expect to see mileage of at least 80 to 90 miles between charges. At that rate, a LEAF should be able to perform about half of a shift prior to recharge. With the use of a DC fast charger, a charge of 80% can be completed in less than 30 minutes. This should provide for another possible 70 to 80 miles prior to needing another charge. So while the LEAF may be somewhat short of the 2001 average daily shift use, it would probably prove adequate the majority of the time based on the current regulation. There is yet another option that we will discuss in another article. Finally, you will see that there is no stipulation that these two nine hour shifts need encompass one 18 hour period, only that the vehicles must be in operation 18 hours each day. This would allow several hours between the two shifts wherein the DC Fast Charge could bring the battery up to nearly 100% charge at the beginning of each shift.

Finally, to the last point that a driver is not supposed to turn down a fare to anywhere within the five burroughs. This is the ruling from the TLC:

§54-20 Operations – Refusing  Passengers
(a) Must Not Refuse to Transport Passengers.
Unless the Driver has justifiable grounds, the Driver must not refuse to transport in any of the following circumstances:
(1) Mandatory Transport.  A Driver must not refuse by words, gestures or any other means, to take a Passenger, including a person with a disability and any service animal accompanying this individual, to any destination within the City of New York, the counties of Westchester or Nassau, or Newark Airport.

We would posit that since the LEAF is an electric car, that constitutes “justifiable grounds”. A simple placard placed in the window could make this fact known. Keep in mind – this is a pilot program using six vehicles out of a total of more than 13,000 taxis in the city of New York. We imagine that as a pilot program certain exemptions will apply to allow for the specialized nature of the electric car, including limiting possible destinations with a likely basis being the aforementioned justifiable grounds. In fact, with only six vehicles being placed into the pilot program, we find it highly unlikely that one would ever see an electric taxi during the one year term of the pilot program. So perhaps a better question might be, why are Nissan and the city of New York even bothering with this pilot program? What do they hope to learn? And why does it matter? We will talk about these issues in our next article on this topic.