Required documents in hand, the big question for those lining up at Department of Motor Vehicle offices across the state in recent weeks is how long they will wait to get to the counter to renew a driver’s license, register a vehicle or check another item off a to-do list.
And though reports of long lines wrapping around DMV offices as an increasing number of drivers apply for new federally-compliant REAL ID driver’s licenses have swirled in recent months, several people lined up at the department’s Redwood City office this week were pleasantly surprised to find a shorter wait than they expected.
After 30 minutes of waiting in the line for visitors without appointments, Redwood City residents Sandy Shaw and Ron Moreno considered themselves lucky to be some 10 to 15 people away from the window where they would be assigned a number a little before 12:30 p.m. Tuesday.
“They’re famous for this,” said Moreno. “I’d be disappointed if we didn’t have to wait.”
Shaw and Moreno came to Redwood City office earlier in the morning to get REAL ID drivers licenses — a federally-approved identification that will be required to board domestic flights starting Oct. 1, 2020 — but decided to come back later when the line outside the office was shorter.
Though Shaw acknowledged they could have made appointments and cut down on their wait time, she hasn’t in the past had luck with scheduling appointments any earlier than months from the day she’s called to schedule one. Shaw estimated they still had at least an hour to wait after they received a number to see a technician, but was pleased the wait they encountered so far since she was expecting much worse.
“I honestly don’t know how they could go any faster,” she said, adding they had plenty of time to wait because they are both retired. “If you have the time, this isn’t a bad deal.”
DMV spokesman Marty Greenstein confirmed the department has been experiencing longer wait times as officials implement the federal REAL ID requirement, new queuing system and an electronic driver’s license and ID card application. According to DMV data, the wait time for those without appointments at the Redwood City office jumped from more than 52 minutes in the first three weeks of June of 2017 to more than an hour and 50 minutes in the same timeframe a year later. Those who made appointments before they came had their wait times triple to more than 27 minutes at the Redwood City office in the first weeks of June as compared to the same timeframe a year earlier.
Wait times for those without appointments at the San Mateo office have jumped from an average of 30 minutes in the first three weeks of June 2017 to more than an hour and 13 minutes in the same window this year. Those visiting the Daly City office without an appointment have seen the average wait time climb past two hours this past June, up from more than 48 minutes logged in the same timeframe last year, according to DMV data.
The DMV’s system tracks wait times from the moment a customer is issued a service number to the time when he or she begins a transaction with a DMV technician at the window, and does not include the time before a customer is issued a queue ticket, confirmed Greenstein, who added the department has explored ways to track the time visitors spend before receiving a service number but doesn’t have hard data available on those waits yet.
Redwood City has been among the field offices the DMV has opened on select Saturdays since June 16 to address the increased wait times, said Greenstein. He said reconfiguring the department’s queuing system and opening 14 field offices across the state an hour earlier four days a week are also among the strategies aimed at cutting down on the time visitors wait.
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“We continue to monitor wait times and the number of customers served to determine whether additional offices need to open on Saturdays and offer earlier hours,” he said in an email.
Greenstein said REAL ID applications typically take longer than other transactions because staff spend extra time reviewing the required documents and visitors are spending more time at the window where they receive their service number while staff explain the requirements to them. Creating an online application for driver’s license and ID cards customers can fill out before their visit and staffing employees to help those waiting to receive a service number has helped the wait times logged in June trend downward, said Greenstein.
In figuring out where to go to renew her driver’s license, Moss Beach resident Kris Williams said she opted to come to the Redwood City office because she thought it would be a more pleasant place to wait, noting the long lines outside other offices could be in the heat or sun. Williams said it had been 10 or 15 years since she last came to a DMV because she’s been able to renew her driver’s license online or by mail. Expecting to find an hourslong wait, Williams said she blocked off her entire afternoon but wasn’t sure if she’d need it.
“It’s been years since I had to actually show up at a DMV,” she said, adding two employees stationed at the front of the line were helpful in answering questions and giving people the right forms before they got in line. “That was very pleasant and unexpected.”
In response to the reports of long lines and increased demand for the federally-compliant REAL ID card, Assemblyman Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, called for an Aug. 7 hearing to discuss how the state Legislature can make improvements. In a press release, Ting noted the recently-approved state budget allocated $16 million for the DMV to hire some 400 new employees by mid-fall, support Saturday service and upgrade self-service kiosks.
“I’ve heard of people waiting seven hours to be seen as walk-ins,” he said in the release. “Online appointments are two months out with slots often unavailable after their license or car registration has expired. This hearing will help us determine the best course forward and whether this year’s state funding is adequate.”
Having heard the Redwood City office might have shorter lines, Foster City resident Eleanor Koh opted against visiting the San Mateo DMV because she needed to renew a car registration expiring the same day. Having moved to Foster City from Sydney, Australia some two years ago, Eleanor Koh said memories of the unique experience of coming to the DMV for the first time remain fresh.
“The first thing you have to do is wait and wait and be patient,” she said. “It’s like a rite of passage.”
Though the Redwood City office has been open select Saturdays in June 16, beginning Aug. 4, the Daly City and Redwood City offices will be open Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Visit dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/detail/fo/fo_sat_offices for more information on the 60 DMV field offices open across the state on Saturdays.
(650) 344-5200 ext. 106
(1) comment
It reminds me of the wording uttered by an executive at one of our public university systems who was asked by a visiting reporter how many people worked in this building. He replied, 'about half of them.'
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