The biggest hurdle in making electric cars a viable alternative to gas-powered vehicles is the charging time for the batteries. Even with quick charging stations, an electric car’s battery cannot be refilled in anywhere near the time it takes to pump a tank of gas. We’re used to being able to stop on the way to work and refill our tank when it gets low, and with an EV, that’s just not possible.

The solution for that problem is a battery swapping station, where you can pull in, have your drained battery swapped for a fresh one, and drive off five minutes later. In Japan this week, Better Place started a 90-day trial run of a battery swapping facility for taxis in Tokyo. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, sister company of Mitsubishi Motors, also announced plans to start a battery swapping program for buses next year, according to Autoblog Green.

The recently opened Better Place EV battery swapping station

If the battery swapping facilities are successful in their trials, it will be a huge step for the electric car. Buses and taxis both need as little downtime as possible, so any hiccups in the operations will be glaringly obvious and will need immediate attention. That means that when battery swapping stations are finally made available to the public, things should already be running smoothly.

There are no plans for battery swapping stations in the U.S. yet. Nor are there any EVs sold right now that are designed to have their batteries removed quickly. So if you’ve already put down your $99 deposit for a Nissan Leaf, don’t panic. It won’t necessarily be completely obsolete in a few years.

Image via Autoblog Green.