If you are a taxi driver or perhaps live in Nottingham then you may be interested to read that a number of electric taxis are to be trialed in Nottingham in September with the project lasting for 6 months. The scheme is called Wireless Charging for Electric Taxis (WiCet).

Sprint Power, a technology company here in the UK, has been able to develop wireless charging modules that will charge the taxis wirelessly by using pads on the ground. Apparently, there are going to be 10 taxis involved in the trial that will involve passengers being transported around in taxis.

As part of the trial, things like the length of distance travelled by the taxis and how much battery power is used will be collated and no doubt analysed. Taxi drivers will no doubt be pleased to read that the government in the UK is backing the trial.

It is going to be interesting to see what happens with this trial. Many taxi drivers do an awful lot of miles every year and one of their major business expenses is, of course, the cost of fuel i.e. diesel or petrol. Although, presumably, an electric taxi would involve a grater capital outlay than a diesel or petrol fuelled taxi, it would be interesting to see if, over a period of time, this additional cost could be covered by the saving in fuel costs when using an electric taxi.

If a taxi is able to say have its battery wirelessly re-charged whilst waiting at a taxi rank this may mean that it is able to keep operating for an extended period of time rather than have to be taken off the road to fully recharge.

If you are a taxi driver then why not revisit our website in a few months after the trial has taken place and we will do our utmost to update you on the outcome of the trial of the wirelessly charged electric taxis.