BANGKOK, September 22 – With demand for taxis drying up in Thailand and thousands of drivers leaving the city, a Bangkok taxi company has turned its vehicles into mini-vegetable gardens, in hopes of alleviating the coronavirus.
The Ratchapruek Taxi Co-op has pulled hundreds of cars off the road in the past year amid an economic downturn made worse by months of lockdowns to prevent the spread of COVID-19, which has left many drivers with income insufficient to pay the rent of their vehicles.
The cooperative grows vegetables on the rooftops and hoods of 300 disused taxis, providing its drivers and members with food to share while sending a message to the government to do more to help overcome the difficulties.
“We chatted among ourselves and decided to grow vegetables to eat because these taxis are not useful,†said Thapakorn Asawalertkul, business consultant for the company.
“They’ve become just metal because they’ve been parking for over a year now.”
Thailand has recorded more than 1.5 million coronavirus cases and 15,600 deaths, 99% of which since April this year. Only 21% of the population has been vaccinated.
On hundreds of pink and orange cabs, peppers, eggplants, cucumbers and basil leaves sprout from the soil contained in black plastic sheeting reinforced with bamboo or wooden poles.
Kamolporn Boonnitiyong, a director of the company, said that although the gardens keep people busy, they are only a temporary solution.
“To some extent, it helped reduce our stress, but it’s not really the answer,†Kamolporn said.
“The government should also step in to help us too. “