CAMPAIGNERS in the district have vowed to keep up their fight for subsidised tube travel following a sharp rise in fares and warnings of more to come.
Residents have been fighting for months to get the same rights as their counterparts in London who receive free travel on the underground if they are aged 60 or over.
Their fears of being “cut off” from the capital due to the spiralling costs have been heightened after Transport for London (TfL) announced last week that train prices may have to be increased dramatically after a record drop in the number of people using the network.
August experienced the biggest fall in tube users since the 1980s, which TfL thinks could be caused by the impact of the recession.
Fares have already risen by six per cent this year.
Eileen Fletcher, a 78-year-old pensioner from Loughton, said the cost of tube travel has made her think twice about visiting London ever again.
She said: “I went with my husband, who's 86, to visit Leytonstone two Sundays ago because I was born and married there, and they had a special day on.
“It said on the leaflets that no cars were allowed, so we went to South Woodford station and got the train from there. It cost us £10.20 to go just two stops.
“I couldn't believe it. It's a lot of money for people like us and it puts me off ever getting the tube again.”
However campaigners have reached a seeming impasse with the authorities. Mayor of London Boris Johnson has said any subsidised fares must be paid for by Epping Council, who themselves say they simply cannot afford such a scheme.
The death of Cllr David Bateman in August was another blow.
He had been spearheading the political campaign in the district, and was planning a meeting with TfL to discuss the issue shortly before he died.
Olivia Rhys, of Buckhurst Hill, has raised nearly 4,000 signatures in a petition calling for the change.
She said: “We're not going to give up, but it is a bit like hitting your head against a brick wall.
“The Green Party have been getting involved, and I'm going to speak to [Epping Forest MP] Eleanor Laing about it too soon.
"We need change because the current situation is just so unfair and unjust.”
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