RTD, yes, that joyous money-losing circus formerly known as public transportation in Denver, is at it again. According to a report from KDVR, they’re expanding their Homeless Outreach Team. Because when you’ve lost passengers and billions while turning buses into shelters on wheels, the obvious solution isn’t enforcing policies, it’s slapping on more government programs.
The Homeless Outreach Team now includes behavioral health clinicians who ride along with security teams to offer support to unhoused riders. So now our tax dollars are not only subsidizing empty train cars but also funding traveling therapy groups for folks who treat light rail as a Motel 6 on tracks. They claim this is all about “compassion,” but what it actually looks like is RTD trying real hard not to offend anyone while flushing your paychecks down the bureaucratic toilet.
The Bullet Point Brief
- RTD beefed up its homeless response team by hiring behavioral health specialists… for buses and trains.
- New hires come from WellPower, a taxpayer-funded outfit that’ll help talk people through their trauma between Union Station and Colfax.
- This move follows rampant complaints from actual commuters about feeling unsafe or giving up riding RTD altogether.
- Homeless individuals regularly camp out on trains thanks to policies like “Free Fares for Cleaner Air,” which accidentally turned coaches into rolling condos.
- Instead of kicking people off or fixing the real issues (mental health, addiction, shelter), RTD hired case managers because feelings are apparently more important than function.
My Bottom Line
Denver’s answer to a dysfunctional transit system being overrun by homeless encampments? Let’s slap another layer of bureaucracy on top and call it compassion! 🤡
Let me get this straight: People won’t ride RTD anymore because they don’t feel safe. Why? ‘Cause the buses became rolling halfway houses where actual commuters have to step around fentanyl fumes and Lord-knows-what was leaking in the corner seat. So instead of saying, “Hey, this is public transportation, not a mobile rehab unit,” RTD doubles down by adding a bunch of social workers to the budget like they’re casting season three of Grey’s Anatomy: Light Rail Edition.
We’ve officialized enabling. If you want mental health care, which I’m 100% for, great. Go build community-based centers and fund legitimate treatment programs with actual structure and accountability. What we don’t need are therapists handing out hugs somewhere between I-25 and Broadway during peak hours while normal working folks just want to get home without stepping in human waste…again.
Jon Caldara was spot-on: We fixed homelessness alright, just gave it free AC and wheels courtesy of dumbass policy at taxpayer expense. Public safety has left the station, common sense never boarded, and instead of getting folks real help or enforcing rules that protect everyone, we decided we’re gonna spend even more money hiding the problem under warm fuzzies dressed as case management.
Wake me when someone grows a spine or brings back personal responsibility with a ticket stub.
P.S.: You wanna know why I keep tabs on RTD like it’s a daytime soap? I’ve got a couple of friends on the RTD Board – good people, smart, pragmatic. Unfortunately, they’re trying to have adult conversations in a romper room run by liberal whack-a-doos allergic to common sense.
The Democrats’ grand vision for “fixing transportation” is basically: What if RTD… but everywhere? Except RTD already can’t keep promises – hi, FasTracks, remember you? It’s broke, it’s unreliable, and now the Guv’s got himself a shiny new choo-choo fantasy called “Front Range Passenger Rail.” Translation: a convenient way to hoover up money from Wyoming to New Mexico to prop up the failed transit cosplay of the Denver/Boulder ruling metroplex.
And here’s the kicker: once they slap a tax on the FRPR district – and trust me, it’s gonna pass, because Denver/Boulder has the voting power and oooooh trains feel so nice – they’ll just fold failed RTD into it so they can pretend they kept their promises. Spoiler: that train folks in Trinidad and Fort Collins are dreaming about? Yeah, it’s not coming. Not in my lifetime.
So yeah, I watch RTD. Because it’s the Democrats’ gold standard for “how transit should run” and the rest of us are just supposed to shut up and get on board. Literally.
