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Idled Thai taxis go green with mini-gardens on car roofs

APTOPIX Thailand Taxi Gardens
Posted at 4:48 PM, Sep 20, 2021
and last updated 2021-09-20 16:48:33-04

BANGKOK (AP) — Taxi fleets in Thailand give new meaning to the term "rooftop garden," as they utilize the roofs of cabs idled by the coronavirus crisis to serve as small vegetable plots.

Workers from two taxi cooperatives assembled the miniature gardens this week using black plastic garbage bags stretched across bamboo frames, on top of which they added to soil in which a variety of crops, including tomatoes, cucumbers, and string beans, were planted.

The result looks more like an eye-grabbing art installation than a car park.

That's partly the point — to draw attention to the plight of taxi drivers and operators who coronavirus lockdown measures have badly hit.

According to the Associated Press, 500 cars are currently on the street, with 2,500 more are sitting idly by waiting to be used because many of the drivers couldn't afford to use the vehicles due to too much competition.

Currently, the gardens aren't a source of revenue.

The gardens are tended by cooperatives staff who took a salary cut, the AP reported.