ZipCar Testing PHEV Service, SF Testing Public Charging Stations

One of the major concerns about widespread PHEV introduction has been the lack of charging infrastructure to support a large number of PHEVs on the road. The City of San Francisco is answering that concern by making available three public charging stations outside of City Hall. The stations will be used by City CarShare, ZipCar and the city's own fleet PHEVs.

The charging stations were supplied by Coulomb Technologies and are part of a two-year test. The new charging stations are just the first of a network of city-supplied stations announced last year. The city has entered into a partnership with Better Place to install charging stations throughout the Bay Area. Better Place says its investments in support infrastructure for PHEVs will exceed $1 billion in the coming years.

Coulomb Technologies has also entered into an agreement with the City of San Jose to create a curbside vehicle recharging network. Don't assume that your tax dollars will be used to top off your batteries, though. The network will be subscription-based. Subscribers will receive a keychain pass, like those used at some gas stations, to get the juice flowing. The company will also sell the charging stations to parking lot owners and businesses that want to provide charging capabilities for their patrons or employees.

For its part, ZipCar will begin supplying PHEVs as part of its San Francisco fleet. The company will use converted Toyota Priuses. The conversions will use A123 Systems' Hymotion L5 Plug-in Conversion kits. Currently, ZipCar has one PHEV in its fleet, but plans to add more. Within a year, the company should have access to factory-built Prius PHEVs.

A converted Prius can achieve as much as 100 mpg in the first 30-40 miles of driving. That figure drops to a more conventional mpg once the batteries have been exhausted. ZipCar currently serves 26 cities in North America and has a fleet of 5,500 vehicles, most of which are conventional. The company has not said when it plans to extend PHEV vehicles to other cities in its service area.

Photo Credit: Rakka, via Flickr