A tune for transit

A new song released this week by John Samson Fellows comes with a clear call to action: “More buses, more routes, more accessible to everyone.”

The tune, titled 50/50 Funding, praises public transportation and calls on the provincial government to reinstate matching transit funding for Manitoba municipalities.

It was written in support of the Next Stop campaign led by Climate Action Team Manitoba and the Amalgamated Transit Union, which aims to restore the long-standing cost-sharing agreement scrapped by the former Progressive Conservative government in 2016.

Getting on board with a transit-improvement campaign was an easy decision for Samson Fellows.

“I’ve taken the bus my entire life. It’s an important part of my life and an important part of my identity as a Winnipegger,” says the former frontman of indie-rock act the Weakerthans.

It’s also a key part of his origin story.

“My parents actually met on a bus on Ellice Avenue in 1966, so I guess I have Winnipeg Transit to thank for my existence in a way,” he says with a laugh.

Samson Fellows doesn’t own a car and rides the bus regularly as one of his main modes of transportation. As such, he’s intimately aware of the issues that exist within the local transit system, such as overcrowding, inconsistent service and missed connections.

Despite the frustrations, Samson Fellows is a big fan of travelling by bus, as it offers a chance to ponder and take in the city while surrounded by other people.

The lyrics of 50/50 Funding imagine a rosy future in which better transit funding leads to a greener and friendlier Manitoba.

“Buses are a place where community happens.”

“Buses are a place where community happens,” Samson Fellows says. “And the environmental aspect is very appealing to me. We need to eliminate fossil fuels from our lives and the only way to do that is to do so together, to travel together.”

The song was recorded with West Broadway youth involved in the After School Leaders program and produced by Rusty Robot (formerly known as Rusty Matyas). It’s available on Bandcamp and accompanied by a stop-motion music video by Samson Fellows’ partner, Christine Fellows.

Over the past decade, much of Samson Fellows’ songwriting has focused on civic activism (see his 2020 song Millennium for All, written in protest of increased security measures at the Millennium Library; he and Fellows were co-writers-in-residence at the Winnipeg Public Library in 2016-17).

“Becoming more involved with my neighbourhood and community has helped me recognize the very important role of municipal and provincial politics in the lived experiences of my friends, family and neighbours,” he says.

The Next Stop campaign launched last month and urges the NDP government to restore matching transit funding in major centres, such as Winnipeg, Brandon, Thompson, Selkirk and Flin Flon. The previous 50/50 funding agreement was introduced in the 1970s and saw the province cover 50 per cent of the day-to-day operating costs for municipal transit systems.

Provincial transit funding has remained at $42 million annually since 2017. Winnipeg Transit recently projected a more than $18-million reduction in revenue this year, owing to a drop in ridership.

“The transit system in Manitoba and in Winnipeg is severely underfunded and as a result service is weakened,” says Laura Cameron, director of programs and strategy for Climate Action Team Manitoba.

“We’re looking for the province to restore the 50-50 agreement and for municipal leaders and candidates going into the upcoming municipal election to pledge increased investment in public transit.”

Visit nextstop5050.ca for more information on the campaign.

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