Electric mobility company Better Place has announced plans to bring its electric taxis with switchable batteries to San Francisco.
The concept is already being trialled in Tokyo, but with support from the US Department of Transportation’s Metropolitan Transportation Commission the first switchable battery, electric taxis are coming to the US.
Over the next three years, Better Place will install and operate four battery switch stations in the San Francisco-San Jose area to support a fleet of zero-emission electric taxis.
Better Place is working with taxi operators Yellow Cab Cooperative and Yellow Checker Cab on the project, along with regional and state agencies.
While there are fewer taxis on the road than personal cars, their high mileage makes them disproportionately responsible for urban greenhouse gas and other tailpipe emissions.
But long recharging times would be a deal-breaker for most taxis, so switchable batteries are a potentially ideal solution.
“[This] marks a significant milestone in our march towards accelerating the mass adoption of electric cars in the Bay Area,” says Jason Wolf, vice president of North America for Better Place. “This programme will enable us to reach a broad audience.”
Better Place is also working towards the commercial launch in 2011 of countrywide networks of charging and battery-switching infrastructure in Israel and Denmark and an initial network in Canberra, Australia.