Not everyone is happy with the new system.
John Whitmire, a Houston Democrat, said at that time.“We need you to respond like your job depends on it.”Ī drawback to the new system is that most Texans must plan their visits to the driver’s license office far in advance, with an average of 17 days before appointments are available statewide.Īppointment availability varies widely by location - for instance, the Houston North Mega Center had just a two day appointment availability window for new driver’s licenses, while those planning to go to Leon Valley Mega Center to receive an original driver’s license would need to book 69 days in advance. The problem grew severe enough that about three years ago officials from DPS were hauled before a state Senate hearing and grilled by senators. For instance at the Gessner Mega Center in Houston in 2019, the average wait time was over an hour - or longer for those who had to wait outside if the office was too crowded, as the wait time tracking starts once a person is inside the building. The problem was attributed to there not being enough driver’s license offices for the population, and understaffing problems at the existing offices.
Wait times had gotten worse from 2009 to 2019, despite the large investment. Driver’s license services are paperwork-intensive and The improvement in wait times has come after the Legislature invested more than $400 million since 2012 to improve customer service. The two Houston-area mega centers each had roughly 20-minute wait times for renewals. The wait time to renew a driver’s license at Leon Valley Mega Center in San Antonio was about one hour, while at the Edinburg or Midland mega centers, it was less than 10 minutes. Although the state’s average wait time remained over an hour, the average wait to receive or renew a driver’s license at the mega centers was about 30 minutes. Wait times seem to have improved the most at the 13 state mega centers. TEXAS TAKE: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inboxĭata for in-office wait times and appointment availability are posted publicly on a state website. Based on a calculated average of the 13 state mega centers from state data, their wait times are down to about 30 minutes on average. The switch was in the works prior to the advent of COVID-19, but it coincided with the reopening of driver’s license offices in May 2020.īefore then, the average wait time was about 90 minutes, said Ericka Miller, press secretary with the Department of Public Safety, which administers Texas driver’s licenses and IDs, and it’s now down to 71 minutes statewide. Rather than operating deli-style where you take a number and wait your turn, those seeking driver’s licenses services are now required to go online and schedule an appointment.
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