Free tickets to ride go fast

One hundred thousand free one-way MTR tickets to celebrate the best-ever performance of a Hong Kong team in an Olympic Games were grabbed within 90 minutes.

The rail operator had said registered users of the MTR mobile app could start claiming the free tickets from 2pm yesterday afternoon. But the app ran slowly with a heavy load as the program rolled.

People unable to access the dedicated page at the start missed the train if they held off for too long. For all the free tickets had left the station by 3.30pm.