Whatever your idea of the concept of the rooftop garden was till now, is about to be changed, thanks to the taxi services in Thailand. Taxis in Bangkok are using the roofs of the cabs that are idled due to the coronavirus crisis as small vegetable plots, reported AP.

The workers from the two taxi cooperatives, Ratchapruk and Bovorn Taxi, have joined hands to transform the roof of the cabs that have gone unused for a long time due to the lockdown into a small vegetable garden. They used black plastic garbage bags stretched across bamboo frames.

On top, they introduced the soil in which a variety of crops, including tomatoes, cucumbers and string beans, were planted. Here is a glimpse of the taxi turned gardens.

 These pretty pink and red taxis turned into a garden is a sight to catch, however, what led to this idea is not a happy story.

According to Thapakorn Assawalertkul, the Taxi services were largely impacted due to COVID-19 lockdown and have just 500 cars plying on Bangkok’s streets now with 2,500 of its cabs sitting idle at a number of sites.

‘Some left their cars at places like gas stations and called us to pick the cars up,’ he recalled.

With new surges of the virus this year, the cooperatives were ‘completely knocked out,’ as thousands of cars were given up by their drivers, he said.

The coronavirus situation in Thailand, which is again on the surge, has left the taxi companies in financial stress as they are struggling to repay loans on the purchase of their fleets.

Ratchapruk and Bovorn cooperatives owe around 2 billion baht ($60.8 million), Thapakorn said. The government has so far not offered any direct financial support.

‘If we don’t get help soon, we will be in real trouble,” he told The Associated Press on Thursday.

Readers must note that taxi roof-top gardens don’t offer an alternative revenue stream and the cooperative’s staff, who were asked to accept salary cuts are now taking turns tending the newly-made gardens.

According to Thapakorn, these vegetable gardens is an act to protest and a way to feed their staff in these difficult times. 

“Thailand went through political turmoil for many years, and a great flood in 2011, but business was never this terrible,” he added.