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WHAT BENEFITS USING A HYBRID (PRIUS) AS TAXI COMPARED TO A NON HYBRID?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by Dxta, Dec 31, 2017.

  1. Dxta

    Dxta Senior Member

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    everyone. Do share your experiences using a Prius as a taxi, as compared to a non hybrid.

    1. Asides, the fuel savings, and green friendly nature of using hybrid cars as a taxi, what other benefits do people, or you, look at, before making such a decision in procuring a hybrid for use as a taxi?

    2. What problems have those Prius taxis encountered throughout their use as taxis, until they get totalled?

    3. What are the maintenance items, and tasks Taxi drivers or fleet operators do to keep their fleets optimum operations?

    4. Would it be advisable to purchase a USED Prius and use for a taxi?

    5. What models of Prius vehicles are more durable for use as taxis?



    Thanks for your comments.
     
    #1 Dxta, Dec 31, 2017
  2. KennyGS

    KennyGS Senior Member

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    I have no personal experience to offer other than my regular visits to New York City, and I see many (if not most) of the yellow cabs there are either Prius or Prius V units. I also see some Rav 4's here and there too among other brands/models. I have to believe the biggest factor for Prius preference being long-term ownership cost, which includes reliability as the biggest factor. For a vehicle to be used primarily in stop-and-go traffic, I'd imagine the Prius is ideal.
     
    #2 KennyGS, Dec 31, 2017
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  3. SwhitePC

    SwhitePC Active Member

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    1) Apart from the nice MPG and low maintenance tried and true Toyota hybrid name, I'd say a regular prius also excels due to the fact that it has a nice amount of cargo space.

    2) High mileage and no respect from customers (heck who respects other's properties much?)

    3) I think with how most companies buy machines/vehicles from mfg, they'll follow the recommended mfg's maintenance plan AND also make up their own plan as they go along, since the mfg's maintenance plan is mostly geared towards regular use of the vehicle, while a taxi fleet is very irregularly high use, and companies will either add (take away, which is rare) on more maintenance and checks depending on problems they'll encounter to educate themselves better and also keep their machine/vehicles running longer.

    4) The toyota hybrid system is kind of near fullproof now...just don't purchase something that's been abused (or high mileage) and you shouldn't encounter too many problems and it's always good to inspect as best as you can before purchasing.

    5) I'd probably choose the regular prius, since it has the best gas mileage and cargo capacity compared to the wagon or smaller C
     
    #3 SwhitePC, Dec 31, 2017
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  4. Dxta

    Dxta Senior Member

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    Regular, you mean like the gen2s?
     
    #4 Dxta, Dec 31, 2017
  5. CLUBGUY

    CLUBGUY Member

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    "cargo capacity compared to the wagon"....?????
    If referring to the "v" wagon: the "v" has an advantage over the regular Prius...
     
    #5 CLUBGUY, Dec 31, 2017
  6. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    There are some taxi drivers/operators here so hopefully they'll chime in. I'm not a taxi operator so just bare in mind that my answers below are not from direct experience but from what I see/hear/read from those around me.

    1. Image - tourists and people that take the vehicle see that you're trying to reduce your fuel consumption and local emissions
    2. Maintenance - brake pads have to be changed much less frequently than regular cars because the electric motors bear some of the responsibilities. Our 2005 brake pads lasted 245,000km and we never replaced them.
    3. Maintenance - alternator. There's no alternator so one less thing that needs to be replaced
    4. Maintenance - transmission. There isn't your typical transmission - just a planetary gear set that's about as tall as a US-sized can of coca-cola and about 2 or 3 cans wide. Toyota says its "maintenance-free" but owners here on PriusChat have suggested that a fluid change isn't a bad idea and can help lengthen the life of the planetary gear set.
    5. Repairs - Prius has been reliable which means there's less "down time" needed for repairs and more time on the road making money.

    I'm not aware of any other than the possible replacement of the hybrid batteries (life seems to vary from 300,000km to 750,000km).

    I'm unable to comment on this since I'm not an operator.

    If you can find one that's been well maintained.

    2nd generation appear to be very solid. They were made at a time when Toyota needed to prove that hybrids are reliable so the general consensus is that they over-engineered the car to ensure it can be a showcase for hybrid technology. Also just before the launch of the 2nd generation, Toyota took a 2001 Prius that was used as taxi duty from Vancouver, Canada (the world's first hybrid taxi driver) to study its components as the Gen 1 Prius wasn't designed to be used as a taxi.

    He bought a 2004 Prius that ran for 1.5 million kilometres before retiring it in 2011 and didn't replace the battery on that one.
     
    #6 Tideland Prius, Dec 31, 2017
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  7. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i think some cities have mandated hybrid taxi's. no choice.
     
    #7 bisco, Dec 31, 2017
  8. Dxta

    Dxta Senior Member

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    Great comments.
    ..ran battery for a millionth miles and didn't have to replace the battery? That's unbelievable.

    A lot of factors must have allowed that traction battery to last that long!

    Asides, scheduled maintenance, I believed there are stuff he must have done to prolong that pack. He's trying style must must have contributed.

    Your brake pads lasted that long!


    Thanks again, Sir.
     
    #8 Dxta, Dec 31, 2017
  9. Dxta

    Dxta Senior Member

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    I think we'd see lots of such legislations this year, following the recent public announcements by auto manufacturers about shifting to renewables by 2020, or so
     
    #9 Dxta, Dec 31, 2017
  10. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Me neither, but that hasn't stopped people trying to hail us, once or twice. :ROFLMAO:

    Prius, either 2nd gen, 3rd gen or v, are very prevalent cabs up here.
     
    #10 Mendel Leisk, Dec 31, 2017
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  11. RobH

    RobH Senior Member

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    #11 RobH, Dec 31, 2017
  12. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Yeah I didn't even know about that! I got that off a news article as I was researching for this thread lol. The highest that I remembered was 750,000km before replacement. But I have noticed that the batteries lasted longer in taxis than in personal vehicles so maybe age is a greater factor than distance travelled? Who knows. How he got to 1.5 million and the other taxi "only" at 750,000km is a mystery since we don't know how they operate their cars. (The 750,000km one is also a Gen 2)


    Yeah I think you'll find most people here will have brake pads that last even longer than ours. We drove mostly in the city so that makes the number even more impressive. As long as the driver of your taxi isn't hard on the brakes, they will last a long time.
     
    #12 Tideland Prius, Jan 1, 2018
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  13. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Maybe a lot of highway miles would extend brake life, less stop-and-go. I checked our fronts last spring, can't seem them lasting anywhere near the above. New is 10.5 mm IIRC:

    ====
    Thursday, March 23, 2017
    km: 66402
    * inspected front brakes, pads disassembled and lubed, calipers pins relubed
    remaining thickness (all): 7 mm (roughly)
    ====

    I'm super easy on brakes btw, consider it hypermiling sin, have to hit the brakes unduly. DW may be a bit more aggressive, not sure.
     
    #13 Mendel Leisk, Jan 1, 2018
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  14. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace Senior Member

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    I think they meant regular as in not Prius c. The Prius v definitely has more cargo space. T
    hat is one of the reasons my son got a Prius v to replace his Gen 2. He transports is dogs to agility and dog show events.
     
    #14 Prodigyplace, Jan 1, 2018
  15. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    For sure. That's why I mentioned city driving. I got called out once saying "oh well I also got 100,000 miles on my Car A so your Prius brake pad life isn't that spectacular" so I started saying city driving. City driving will not get you 100,000 miles on a brake pad on a regular car.
     
    #15 Tideland Prius, Jan 1, 2018
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  16. Dxta

    Dxta Senior Member

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    That's what I thought too. Lots of highway driving, and less city gridlock kind of drives should extend brake pad life.

    But running a gen2 to almost a millionth mileage with the original battery is what is surprising to me
     
    #16 Dxta, Jan 1, 2018
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  17. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Yup. But it's the only example we know of so I would set your expectations to somewhere between 200,000 and 500,000km and everything after that is just gravy. Battery replacement isn't too expensive (but I see you're in Africa? I'm not sure what the prices are for a new battery over there). An Australian owner just replaced the battery in his gen 2 and said it drives like new.

    My HV battery replacement experience - Australia. | PriusChat
     
    #17 Tideland Prius, Jan 1, 2018
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