Afghan taxi drivers have come up with a creative solution to a problem they face almost daily — broken car air-conditioners. In Kandahar — a city where temperatures regularly exceed 104º — blue taxis can be spotted with air-conditioning units strapped to the roof, with an exhaust hose delivering the cool air through a passenger window. Driver Gul Mohammad said the solution to sparing him and his passengers traveling in sweltering heat came to him when automotive air-conditioner repairs began to became too expensive to justify. He went to a technician and had a custom cooler made. The 32-year-old spent roughly 3,000 afghanis ($43) for the system, which he connects to his taxi’s battery and regularly fills with water. Fellow driver Abdul Bari said the rooftop systems work better than built-in air-conditioners, which typically only cool the front. “This cooler spreads air throughout,” he added. Other devices are connected to solar panels, also mounted on the taxi’s roof. Murtaza, a 21-year-old technician, said that demand from taxi drivers has been growing over the past 2-3 years. Afghan cities are often saturated with aging vehicles that have air-conditioners that barely work, if at all. The rooftop unit gives new life to these otherwise out-to-pasture cars.
