The Guangzhou Metro Company announced Thursday that it would cancel the scheme of free tickets for its employees' family members.

The company said in an emergency notice that only 2,420 people, as opposed to the previously reported 18,000, had been provided free rides. It said the measures were in line with the practices in the Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong subways.

It decided to rescind the scheme to maintain its "good social image," the Guangzhou Daily said, citing the company's notice.

The company was under fire when Guangzhou media reported last week that more than 18,000 people, comprising Metro employees and their family members, had been provided free rides on the underground network.

The report said the company was providing free Metro rides to two family members of each employee. The general manager of the company, Lu Guanglin, was quoted by media as saying the free rides were to meet counter-terrorism requirements.

"The employees will enjoy free rides because they need to frequently commute between stations at work," he was quoted as saying at a subway fare hearing in Guangzhou last Monday.

"The free ride offer is extended to family members in exchange for their help at emergencies, as they are in fact some kind of security volunteers for the Metro."

He said the employees alone were not enough to cope with emergencies.

Editor: Donald