An amendment notice to ban smoking at open-air public transport interchanges by the end of the year was published in the Government Gazette yesterday.
Health Department director Dr Lam Ping-yan on June 30 designated 131 interchanges, including 129 in the open air and two covered interchanges, as non-smoking areas. The proposal is to be tabled in the Legislative Council next week. Subject to scrutiny by Legco, the amendment notice will come into effect on December 1.
A smoking ban at 43 indoor and 48 covered interchanges has been coming into effect in phases since January 1, 2007 and September 1, 2009, respectively. Two newly designated covered interchanges qualified as non-smoking areas in the past year due to routing modifications on public transport services.
One of them is at Lower Wong Tai Sin Estate and the other is at the north of Yuen Long Station, according to a spokeswoman for the Department of Health.
Open-air interchanges, such as the Star Ferry pier public transport interchange, Sha Tin racecourse public transport interchange and Hung Hom Station public interchange, will become non-smoking.
Interchanges with two or more modes of public transport and bus terminals of more than one specified route also qualify as designated non-smoking areas.
