The project is specifically aimed at taxis -- and for good reason, considering that Tokyo has more taxis than New York, London and Paris combined. The project is run by Better Place Japan, an electric vehicle service provider based in California.

One thing often unmentioned in the EV debate is the fact that rapid charging, especially for heavy-use vehicles such as taxis, depletes the useful life of the battery. A swap station like the one Better Place Japan has built provides a functional "instant charge," that is, with the battery swap, a vehicle goes from low on charge to fully charged in minutes. In addition, by saving the batteries from rapid charges (after all, when functioning properly the station can recharge batteries at its leisure), it increases the battery life and becomes a much more cost-effective solution.

From Gizmag:
"The project will run for 90 days to demonstrate the duration, durability, robustness and resistance to degradation of the battery switch process under actual operating conditions with vehicles that operate nearly continuously."