Free MTR rides as barrier malfunction at Mong Kok station brings chaos to a busy Saturday
Latest calamity adds to criticism of corporation after sixth fare hike in as many years in June
Chaos descended on one of the city's busiest MTR stations yesterday as ticket gates broke down - granting thousands of passengers a free ride.
All 40 ticket gates at Mong Kok station stopped working at 2.45pm as hordes of people headed to the bustling shopping hotspot. MTR staff were forced to open the emergency exits, allowing passengers in and out without paying to avoid congestion.
However, queues still formed as confused passengers tried to use their Octopus cards at the malfunctioning gates.
Many passengers complained about the inconvenience of the situation.
"Something is wrong again? The MTR is really rubbish! Yet still they have the gall to increase fares!" said one disgruntled man as he queued to get in.
Another woman grumbled as she walked past MTR staff, saying "This is really troublesome!"
The gates had to be manually restarted individually, an MTR spokeswoman said.
The gates were back in action half an hour after the breakdown, she added.
An estimated 3,800 people arriving at the station got a free ride, the spokeswoman added. But the 470 people boarding trains at Mong Kok had no such luck - they had to go to the ticket office at their destination to pay.
Train services were not affected by the breakdown.
The spokeswoman said the cause of the breakdown was under investigation.
The ticketing bungle was the latest in a series of operational mishaps that have put a dent in the MTR's reputation for efficiency.
In the latest incident in June, services on three separate lines were hit by disruptions on one day, with passengers forced to wait an extra 10 to 15 minutes longer than usual for trains.
Meanwhile the MTR Corporation - which is also facing criticism over long delays and cost overruns on new railways, especially the cross-border high-speed link to Guangzhou - has pushed up fares.
An average increase of 4.3 per cent, implemented on June 21, was the sixth in as many years under a government formula that ties fares to inflation and to wage costs in the transport sector.
It came as a survey showed that workers were spending a higher percentage of their pay on travel than five years ago.
