12/05/2015 'Made in Singapore' electric taxi charges fast, goes the distance  Singapore Transport News & Top Stories  The Straits Times

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BY FENG ZENGKUN, ENVIRONMENT CORRESPONDENT

'Made in Singapore' electric taxi charges fast,goes the distance

 

(http://www.straitstimes.com/sites/straitstimes.com/files/20150512/jqeva120515e.jpg)

EVA, the taxi designed and built here by TUM Create  a collaboration between Nanyang Technological Universityand Germany's Technische Universitat Munchen  has a 200km range and a charging time of just 15 minutes. PHOTO: TUM CREATE

Singapore has created a fastcharging electric taxi that works well in tropical cities andcould help the country to combat climate change.

Conventional electric vehicles take six to eight hours to charge and usually cover up to160km on a full charge.

But EVA, the taxi designed and built here by TUM Create  a collaboration betweenNanyang Technological University (NTU) and Germany's Technische Universitat Munchen has a 200km range and a charging time of just 15 minutes.

"Drivers can go for a toilet or meal break, come back, and their taxi will be recharged,"said Mr Raymond Khoo, 29, an NTU researcher on the project.

The taxi's specially designed features  such as an overhead airconditioning system thatcools individual seats, and fans in the seats that wick away heat and moisture  also helpto reduce the energy needed to keep passengers comfortable in tropical cities.

The researchers said they decided to focus on electric taxis as taxis "have a far greaterimpact on the environment compared with private passenger cars".

In Singapore, taxis make up about 3 per cent of the vehicle population, but travel 15 percent of the total distance covered by all vehicles here, according to the researchers'calculations.

Many twoshift taxis here travel for up to 24 hours every day, covering an average of520km, they said.

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12/05/2015 'Made in Singapore' electric taxi charges fast, goes the distance  Singapore Transport News & Top Stories  The Straits Times

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NEXT STORY: Law to regulate taxi booking services (http://www.straitstimes.com/news/singapore/transport/story/lawregulatetaxibookingservices20150512) (http://www.straitstimes.com/news/singapore/transport/story/lawregulatetaxibookingservices20150512)

The researchers added that by replacing vehicles that use fossil fuels with electricpowered ones, carbon emissions as well as noise and exhaust pollution can be reduced.

The team is now looking to work with industrial partners to conduct safety tests on the taxi,and to find ways to mass manufacture it for commercial use.

But they acknowledged that there are several obstacles, such as the need for speciallydesigned charging stations for the taxi.

This means that Singapore's more than 70 existing charging stations may need to beretrofitted.

Some people, such as bank analyst Rachel Ng, 25, were also concerned about possiblehigher fares, if the electric taxis cost more.

Addressing this concern, TUM Create scientific adviser director Markus Lienkamp said:"Electric taxis cost less in the long run compared with petrolrun taxis, as electricity ismuch cheaper than petrol, and electric engines do not experience wear and tear.

"So there's really no question about it. Electric vehicles are the future."

zengkun@sph.com.sg (mailto:zengkun@sph.com.sg)

Additional reporting by Wu Jia Min

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