Jim Perkins has pretty solid habits – gets up at the same time each workday, enjoys his morning coffee with dark roast with double milk and double sugar and always checks his email and does the daily Sudoku before heading to work.

Now, he’s looking forward to creating a whole new habit – where he parks his car before starting his commute.

This, he agrees, could be a change for the better.

“The parking lot at Oshawa GO Station is absolutely packed in the morning, this is a great option to improve my commute.” said Perkins, a Clarington resident.

Earlier this month, GO Transit started servicing new park and ride lots at Ritson Road in Oshawa and Courtice Road Station in Courtice, providing much-needed transit solutions to Bowmanville and the surrounding area.

Marco Chu, project coordinator, Bus Infrastructure at Metrolinx said: “We see this as a great option for customers who are driving to the Oshawa GO Station from the Bowmanville, Clarington, and Oshawa areas.

“The parking lot at Oshawa Station fills up early, this option provides some relief.”

The expanded bus service will operate during rush hours, from Monday to Friday, at a peak frequency rate of two buses per hour. This new service is a key part of providing more frequent, two-way GO service through Metrolinx’s GO Expansion program.

Metrolinx is moving forward with plans to expand and improve GO Lakeshore East service to Durham Region to help manage congestion and get more people moving throughout the region, explained Marie Hibbert, who is the project manager, Bus Program.

Amenities at the Courtice Park & Ride – located at 1350 Courtice Road (Courtice Road Park and Baseline Road West) – include parking for approximately 70 vehicles (increasing to over 100 once finishing work is completed this summer), a Kiss & Ride passenger drop off, bus shelter, bicycle storage rack and ample lot lighting. This lot will be serviced by the updated 91Newcastle Bus Route. Connections to Durham Regional Transit can be made at DRT bus stops located on First Avenue.

Likewise, the amenities at Ritson (located at First Avenue and Front Street) include parking for approximately 70 vehicles, bicycle storage rack, and ample lot lighting. This lot will be serviced by the updated 90A Newcastle Bus Route.

Schedules for both routes can be found on gotransit.com and triplinx.ca

The new service adds 20 bus trips across the two routes. With more frequent service between Durham Region and Toronto, customers will have more ways to connect to work, home, and everything in between.

For Jim Perkins, it could be just the change he needs.