Wireless Charging of Electric Taxis: Understanding the Facilitators and Barriers to Its Introduction

Abstract

The shift to electric vehicles has brought about the potential to reduce the environmental damage caused by road transport. However, several challenges prevent wider adoption of electric vehicles, such as: a lack of charging facilities, long charging times, limited range, and the inconvenience of cable charging. These barriers are more pronounced for taxis, which generally cover longer distances than regular cars and have fewer opportunities for recharging. This research aims to evaluate wireless charging for range extended electric taxis, as a strategy to minimise these challenges and facilitate the electrification of fleets. A mixed methods approach, combining quantitative vehicle tracking with qualitative interviews and focus groups with drivers and local authority representatives, provided an understanding of ‘facilitators’ and ‘barriers’ to the introduction of wireless chargers in London and Nottingham, UK. Results indicated that current wired charging infrastructure does not facilitate recharging opportunities during taxi working hours, causing longer shifts or lower earnings. Drivers reported running on a range extender petrol engine once the battery is depleted, limiting the environmental benefits of electric taxis. We conclude that wireless chargers could facilitate the increased driving range of existing electric taxis if installed where drivers stop more often. The results support the implementation of opportunistic, short but frequent charging boosts (known as choko-choko) as part of policies to alleviate the barriers to the introduction of wireless charging of electric taxis, and foster more sustainable means of road transportation.

Look, No Cables! An Interview Study into Guiding the Practical Implementation of Wireless Chargers for Electric Taxis

“…Given that the key goal of the WiCET project is to make charging more convenient, the comments from drivers would suggest that the technology would be successful in this regard. The convenience aspect of wireless charging has been corroborated and highlighted in other studies [12]. Drivers highlighted the benefit of not losing opportunities to collect fares and work by being able to charge at their place of work.…”

“…The high-profile taxi rank chosen is located at Trent Street, Nottingham (UK). It is the largest and busiest taxi rank in the city, and its location was determined based on a mixed methods evaluation of taxi driving patterns [12]. A street-view image of the proposed location for wireless charging installation can be seen below in Figure 1.…”

The dynamic wireless charging system of suspension inspection robot

“…The main power supply method of the existing inspection robots is a contact power supply, that is, the robot is directly connected to the power supply through the wire plug for power replenishment, and then unplug the plug after it is full. The frequent unplugging of the charging plug can easily lead to wear and deformation at the interface and can lead to electrocution accidents in wet environments [2], making farm safety not guaranteed. The battery power supply is simple and convenient, but its battery capacity is limited.…”

Improvement of Hybrid Energy Storage Wireless Charging System Performance and Efficiency

“…Although plug-in charging is the most common way to charge an EV, but,there are still some problems related to the charging cable. The contact charging is seen to generate dangerous spark easily when charging the battery with a large voltage [4]. In addition, short circuit also can happen if the charging cable cracked, especially during the weather like rain and high humidity since some of the charging port exposed at open area and air [5].…”