RTD grapples with illicit drugs and the use of buses and trains as shelters

For potential metro Denver public transit riders bothered by open illicit drug use and people who lack housing taking shelter on buses and trains, Regional Transportation District chief executive Debra Johnson this week suggested collective action: “There’s strength in numbers.”

“If there are more people on a transit vehicle, the average human being is less likely to act up,” Johnson said Wednesday in Denver Union Station after a gathering with public transit counterparts from around the nation.

That critical mass of riders who collectively deter crime and create a more secure transit experience looms as the ultimate solution to challenges that the RTD and other transit agencies face, especially when extreme weather hits. Big cities like London, Tokyo, and New York have it. But achiev