A newspaper hawker operating next to a row of bus stops in a busy Causeway Bay street does not need the air pollution index to tell him how bad the air swirling around him is. The filthy exhaust fumes from passing buses hits him in the face every day as soon as he starts work. 'Lots of buses go past, especially around 6pm when everybody is off from work,' said Mr Chan, 24, whose family has been operating a newspaper stand outside Hong Kong Mansion in Yee Wo Street for 40 years. 'Sometimes I feel dizzy and have to sneak into the pharmacy near the bus stand for air conditioning.' Even during the quieter time between 3pm and 4pm on weekdays, about 180 franchised buses pass through the bus stops. The situation gets much worse during evening peak hour from 6pm to 7pm, when the number of buses rises 30 per cent to about 230. These buses serve more than 40 routes between Hennessy Road and Yee Wo Street heading towards Tin Hau. Some serve similar destinations. Circular routes 25C and 25A depart Wan Chai for Braemar Hill, while route 25 departs Central pier and passes through Wan Chai for Braemar Hill. Mr Chan believes the number of buses has increased over the years and what the government did to reduce trips and move stops did not help much. Another newspaper hawker in Yee Wo Street said the air quality was bad. 'Buses start passing early every day, and the air starts to get dusty as well,' she said. 'I have been forced to get used to it over the years.'
