In a desperate effort to ease long lines, the DMV will open as early as 7 a.m. at some offices and will add Saturday hours to more locations.
The moves announced Friday follow months of complaints about waits that have stretched up to 9 hours as the state grapples with the new Real ID applications, leaving some motorists steaming mad and others in tears.
“We apologize for the increased wait times,” DMV Director Jean Shiomoto said in a news release. “We continue to actively work on solutions to get customer transactions completed more efficiently.”
The DMV is increasing the number of Saturday service offices from 43 to 60 and offering service every Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. by Aug. 4.
In addition, starting Monday, the Oakland Claremont field office and the San Jose Driver License Processing Center will open at 7 a.m. four days a week and will also open Saturdays beginning Aug. 4. The other Bay Area offices with Saturday hours are in Concord, Daly City, El Cerrito, Fairfield, Hayward, Novato Pleasanton, Redwood City, Santa Clara, San Francisco, Santa Rosa, Santa Teresa (San Jose) and Vallejo
Behind-the-wheel exams are not available on Saturdays.
Real IDs, an effort to standardize driver’s licenses across states and establish uniform security standards, will be required beginning Oct. 1 2020 for California residents to board any commercial flight, unless they carry a passport. The same will apply to certain federal facilities where identification is required. Driver’s licenses that are not Real ID-compliant still will be valid in the state.
There are some signs that the crunch is beginning to ease. Last week, 80-year-old Myrna Stephenson had a 9 a.m. appointment at the Hayward DMV.
“I was out by 10:30 – and that included the extra time due to having a supervisor train another employee on how to check all the paperwork involved in getting a Real ID at the same time I was renewing my license,” Stephenson said. “Perhaps a record was set as I was in and out within one and one-half hours.
“I did not find the experience to be daunting at all.”
The DMV strongly recommends making appointments, which can be scheduled up to 90 days in advance using the DMV’s website or calling (800) 777-0133.
But appointments can be an issue, too.
The license of Donna Mollenhauer of Redwood City expires in the middle of August so she waited until she got her notice in the middle of June. She immediately went to the computer to get an appointment in Redwood City, Daly City and San Mateo. None were available until Sept. 19.
Panicking, she walked in on July 5. She got there at 7:40 a.m. and did not get to the front door until 9:40 a.m. Then waited another hour 2 1/2 hours.
“I started my trek through the computer application, eye test, 18 question test, photo and was sprung out at 1:25 p.m.,” she said. “By the way, I passed. Yay.”
Look for Gary Richards at Facebook.com/mr.roadshow or contact him at mrroadshow@bayareanewsgroup.com.
