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Focus on Scugog writer, Christina Coughlin, left, was up bright and early one September morning to join brothers Christopher and James Green and other area students who use Durham Transit buses to get to and from Durham College and the University of Ontario Institute of Technology throughout the school year. Durham Transit North services the communities of Scugog, Uxbridge and Brock Townships. All aboard the DRT Durham Transit buses provide an inexpensive and efficient service for Scugog residents I never thought I’d be getting on a bus heading back to school. But, here I am on a crisp autumn morning waiting for the bus to arrive just like other students. Only difference is, this time I’m not actually going to class. Instead, my homework for the day is to talk to students about their experiences taking the bus to school. In particular riding the Durham Regional Transit (DRT) bus that will take them to Oshawa and beyond. The first travellers I encounter are Christopher and James Green - both students at Durham College taking a year long program in Foundations in Art and Design - who are patiently waiting for their bus to arrive. The brothers are new-time ‘bus commuters,’ in fact James jokes that be- fore school started he couldn’t even remember the last time he was on a bus, “Maybe when I was under 3-years-old,” he laughs. But despite their inexperience, Christopher and James, who are now going into their third week as official col- lege commuters, both seem to have a good grasp of the bus route and schedule. “It’s easy enough to get used to,” Christopher insists, adding that so far he is equally im- pressed with the lack of waiting time. “The bus has pretty much been on time,” he says, explaining that it often arrives early and the drivers will sit and wait for students to arrive. I can’t help but think that come wintertime, the early arrival of the bus will be a blessing for students. There’s nothing like eagerly waiting in the frosty temperatures! As their mother, Colleen Green, drops them off at the downtown Port Perry bus stop on Water Street, she ex- plains how convenient and reliable the bus service has been “All you have to do is show your student ID and get on the bus,” she says adding that, with soaring insurance rates, public transit is a much more economical choice. Allyson Dale, who completed her undergrad in Psy- chology at Trent University Durham Campus and is now pursuing her Masters in Psychology from Trent University in Peterborough, certainly agrees that the financial sav- ings makes the bus a more practical choice for students. Please turn to page 38 FOCUS - OCTOBER 2010 39