Prius PHEV As London Taxi

The Volt is no good as it has 4 seats and no boot/trunk. But the higher EV range would be more useful. As a private driver I did about 35k miles (56k km) a year as a taxi which is about 130 miles (210 km) a day. Removing 10-15 miles off that is nothing in the whole scheme of things. Removing 35-50 miles off that is significant and worthwhile, even allowing for the reduced fuel consumption on CS mode. But the Ampera was very expensive too.

The 3 year old £4k Ford Mondeo/Skoda Octavia, VW Passat, Peugeot 408 is probably the better bet I fear. Ideally a Tesla S at the cost of a PIP would work. When the prices drop in the next 5 years such a car (be it Tesla or whoever) will be a game changer. I think the Tesla could be viable for the high end 'taxi' business where a Merc S Class is presently used.

 

Again math called in...

130 mi
Prius PHV 115mi @60MPG(UK) = 1.91 gal
Ampera 80mi @ 44MPG(UK) = 1.80 gal

Can't see that much "worthwile"...

 

All that aside, the PiP should be matched to the cabbie that will use it wisely and for most gain. As for the current behavior of taxis inching forward in a line for customers, that custom is not universal or the law of the land.

 

That's pretty much how they work at US airports.

The Prius can save a cabby on gas. The PPI can save a little more. Perhaps more than a little when matched to a cabby that can make the most use it. But that is all moot in a market where the Prius costs more than the Lexus CT200h. Would cabbies in North America have taken a chance with the gen1 Prius if it at been over $30k?

 

Not sure if you're being sarcastic or not, but the prices of the Prius, PIP and CT200h are easy to find on toyota.co.uk or lexus.co.uk

 

Sorry GC, £ is not a recognized currency

 

What happens when central London is declared a Zero Emissions Zone?

BBC News - New London taxis to emit zero emissions from 2018

 

The base CT200h is 1000 pounds less than the cheapest Prius. In the US it is about $8000 more.
The first notable Prius taxi was a gen1.5, up in Canada I believe. I don't know the Canadian price, but it was likely higher than the $20k the car cost in the US. The gen1 was comparable in size to the Echo, which could be bought for at least $4000 less. If the gen1 had cast another $8000, would the cabby have still taken a chance with it as a taxi?

The current PPI might see more use as a cab then, but I say it will come down to how strictly the zero emission part is enforced. Even increased range in the next gen will likely not be enough for a full day inside the zero emission zone, and I think most cabbies will likely just go on gas if they think they can get away with it.

 

We've been refering to the PIP as a taxi as in everyone other than London (and a couple other cities) the PIP can indeed be a legal taxi.

In London it can't be. It can only be a minicab or private(ly) hired car. One which can't be hailed in the street. So I could sit on a rank in a PIP but a driver in London can't.

It's a weird law and not sure how the proposed ZEZ will affect things.

 

IIRC petrol in Canada at that time was under $4 USD/gallon. Compare that to current petrol costs in the UK for a more reasonable question.

The cabbies in the UK interested in electric are going to save 10 - 15 US cents a mile. If they can manage 25% EV overall and taxi life is 300k miles, the break-even point for the *EV premium is ~ $US 7k-10k before other perks and subsidies are considered.

 

What if the cabby could use the free on street chargers? Our petrol atm is about $7.50 a US gallon

 

The difference between the Prius and PPI price in the UK is 6400 pounds or $10,032.
25% EV miles is generous. GC stated his daily miles was 130. If the PPI can manage 15 miles a day, that's 11.5%. To get o 25% would require another full charge, which take 1.5 hours at a level 2 charger. Snatching a short charge here and there will get about 0.07 miles of range per minute charging. The PPI is not capable of charging any faster. The likely hood is that a PPI cab, or car for hire, will only see one full per day.

With the grant, a PPI will take 2.67 years, with no days off to break even. (assumptions: 130mi/day, $7.50 us gallon, 50mpg, and 15 mile EV range for PPI). Considering the annual miles, they work out about even for a taxi's life.

 

As you said, spacious. Enough to fall into the EPA compact class. The 2001 Corolla and Prius both have more passenger volume(but less cargo), but where the actual inches are might mean the differences are smaller.
Compare Side-by-Side

But the Corolla is there more likely choice instead of a Prius for a taxi. Which doesn't change my point. There is still a sizable difference in price between a gen1 Prius and Corolla. If that difference was even greater, it becomes harder to justify to a cabby for taxi use.

A Prius and PPI could be great cabs due to there versatility and fuel consumption, but not in markets where they have a large price difference over the traditional option. We know there are more reasons beyond saving money to get a hybrid, but we aren't buying them for business use.

 

Businesses do things all the time that are not straightforward money calcs. Advertising, for example.

Andrew Grant, the pioneer of Prius as a taxi, has written that he was able to accrue a group of customers that asked for him instead of other cabbies because of the Prius.

In any case, saying that as the Prius becomes more expensive it becomes less attractive is not the most incisive thought I hope to read today.

 

I felt it needed to be said because all the support of a PPI cab for London seem to be overlooking the realities of how often the car will get charged and its high price in the UK.

 

As GC pointed out, not only will the higher new price mean higher used price for a Prius or the PHV, that high price will mean less used ones being available in the UK. I think the only way to get a PPI adopted as a car for hire in London will be by zero emission requirements. Then if the next gen doesn't greatly improve the EV range, a PPI hire car won't actually be zero emission most of the time.