Electric cars

Herzlos

Car_54 wrote: »

In a typical cab rank, the vehicles move forward every few minutes. How dooes the charging setup cope with that?

Presumably the cab won't move whilst it's still connected to a fast charger, so I guess they'd either just charge for a couple of minutes or wait longer before moving up.



A 22kw fast charger will give 1kwh of charge in just under 3 minutes - which will get a vehicle about 4 miles, so there's potentially still benefit in having a series of short charges whilst working your way up the rank. Or as said, you can likely get by just with charging whilst on breaks.



Occasionally you may miss a fare due to having to go away to charge, but if you're saving £100/week in fuel that doesn't seem like a bad trade-off.

Martyn1981

Herzlos wrote: »

Presumably the cab won't move whilst it's still connected to a fast charger, so I guess they'd either just charge for a couple of minutes or wait longer before moving up.



A 22kw fast charger will give 1kwh of charge in just under 3 minutes - which will get a vehicle about 4 miles, so there's potentially still benefit in having a series of short charges whilst working your way up the rank. Or as said, you can likely get by just with charging whilst on breaks.



Occasionally you may miss a fare due to having to go away to charge, but if you're saving £100/week in fuel that doesn't seem like a bad trade-off.

I'm wondering if there is also some sort of 'cabbie etiquette' where they would note their arrival and 'claim' a fair.

But then there's also the logical side, if fares are numerous, then you can miss some whilst charging, then grab one when done (or done enough). And if fares are sparse, then you'd get a longer charge anyway.

Martyn1981

Tesla did well in the US last quarter, though I think the figures relate to full EV's as PHEV's/HEV's seem to be missing.

Tesla Model 3 = 67% of US Electric Vehicle Sales in 2nd Quarter

Made me chuckle:

I hesitate to beat a demolished piñata, but it’s perhaps worth noting that many of the electric models in these charts were at various times deemed “Tesla killers” by certain members of the media. It appears there was a miscalculation in those forecasts.

AdrianC

Just back from three weeks and ~3k miles of mostly non-motorway across 9 other countries. Model 3s are definitely out there - across D/A/CH, I reckon somewhere around fifteen-twenty of 'em (so not exactly thick on the ground yet, but definitely there). Especially in A, the surprise was that they were roughly neck-and-neck with the iPace. Local support for the Graz-built Jag?

Can't say the scaling-down of the Model S styling works too well in the flesh - it's a bit chubby and dumpy, and the "pouty upper lip" is a lot more pronounced than pictures make it look. Better than the over-inflated S of the X, though.

Leafs and Zoes are definitely the most numerous electrics - Calais port is using quite a few Leafs as site vehicles, as well as all the ones "in the wild". Not to mention all the Twizys, mainly in use as mobile advertising.

Charging point visibility was on a similar level to the UK... One big Leclerc in France had four bays for a large multi-story covered carpark and large surface. Two of those bays were in use - an i3 REx charging, and a Model 3... parked at the sort of jaunty angle you normally associate with chavved Corsas abusing disabled bays, and without the cable in sight...

I see the Q2 2019 Tesla financials came out while I was gone.

almillar

In a typical cab rank, the vehicles move forward every few minutes. How dooes the charging setup cope with that?

Well, I'm not a cabbie, but I thought that when they were lined up in a rank, they're queuing for business. Charging whilst having lunch, if needed, at an actual charger, would give plenty of juice. And as a potential solution to the problem, this seems an ideal place to install a short lane of wireless charging, already demonstrated to work at far greater speed than a taxi would be doing manouvring up a rank. And just to make things equivocal, I don't see diesel taxis being refuelled in ranks.

A 22kw fast charger will give 1kwh of charge in just under 3 minutes

One of these, even at the start of the rank, that other drivers can pass. Stop at it, other taxis join the 'real' queue, you can join the queue after taking whatever charge you like. I'm not sure what the new London Taxis take over AC. A big rapid DC charger would be expensive.

zeupater

almillar wrote: »

Well, I'm not a cabbie, but I thought that when they were lined up in a rank, they're queuing for business. Charging whilst having lunch, if needed, at an actual charger, would give plenty of juice. And as a potential solution to the problem, this seems an ideal place to install a short lane of wireless charging, already demonstrated to work at far greater speed than a taxi would be doing manouvring up a rank. And just to make things equivocal, I don't see diesel taxis being refuelled in ranks ....

Hi

... with the medium term solution being induction, something along the lines of ...

... While waiting for customers at the stands, the taxis will charge via induction at a rate of up to 75 kW. Fortum says, “The project will be the first wireless fast-charging infrastructure for electric taxis anywhere in the world, and will also help the further development of wireless charging technology for all EV drivers.” ...

oslo-wireless-charging-taxis

Simply a case of the application needs of the fleet operator overruling the additional loss of efficiency in the charging process ..

HTH
Z

AdrianC

almillar wrote: »

Well, I'm not a cabbie, but I thought that when they were lined up in a rank, they're queuing for business.

Stations aside, London black cabs don't tend to queue on ranks, though. They usually simply get hailed while driving around.

Car_54

AdrianC wrote: »

Stations aside, London black cabs don't tend to queue on ranks, though. They usually simply get hailed while driving around.

Have you ever been to London?

AdrianC

Car_54 wrote: »

Have you ever been to London?

Many times over the years I lived and worked there, thanks, before I had enough sense to escape.

So, tell me... If you were - say - on the Aldwych, and suddenly felt a need for a black cab, would you just hail one in the street, or would you go looking for a rank? Wandering down to Charing Cross aside, where would you go with any degree of certainty of there being a taxi waiting...?

Martyn1981

jeepjunkie wrote: »

Often see cabbies sitting on either fast/rapid chargers whilst on lunch breaks. Between shifts it's not uncommon to see cabs unattended plugged into fast chargers at charging hubs ready for the next driver. Cheers

So (I'm thinking out loud) a half hour charge at 50kW would probably mostly fill/refill the battery. Sounds good, given London speeds and the different value of 80 miles.

Again pondering, but going forward, and also further out of London, and other city centers, I'm going to bravely assume that battery costs will fall, and the size/range of the leccy propulsion will increase nicely over time.

So much promising news on EV's all the time, makes me smile.