DPS blames staff and funding shortage
TEXAS — If you’re trying to get a state license or ID, you might be waiting a while.
Appointments are backed up for months online at the Texas Department of Public Safety, and lines outside offices are only getting longer.
The Texas Department of Public Safety’s website shows the Austin South location has about a 30 to 40 minute wait, but many people are waiting for more than three hours to get in.
Phyllis Champion and Alfred Garcia got there at around 3 a.m. They were waiting in 35 degree weather just to get an appointment at DPS. These two strangers, now buddies, were first in line Friday. It’s Champion’s fifth attempt and Garcia’s second.
“Before it wasn’t like that,” Garcia said. “You could just walk in.”
Both of them tried to book an appointment online, but there weren’t any openings until May or June — a common occurrence in many cities across the state. Champion’s son is schizophrenic. He needs an ID to get disability benefits, so she can’t wait that long.
“There were like three month waiting periods and I need it before next month, so I need to have it done,” she said.
Garcia says while trying to renew his license online, his ID expired, so he has to make an appointment in person.
“I have MRIs and appointments coming up, so they’ll want a current one,” he said.
The Austin South location is one of the few DPS offices that allow walk-ins. However, even if you show up in person, it doesn’t guarantee you’ll get inside. These long wait times at DPS are an ongoing issue many Texans across the state are dealing with.
Spectrum News 1 Texas contacted DPS to find out what was going on.
They declined to do an interview. In a written statement, a spokesperson said:
“Unfortunately, current resources are not adequate to serve customers for all appointment types and to keep pace with future population growth. DPS has also requested additional resources from the Texas Legislature for offices and staffing across the state to keep pace with population growth.”
DPS tells us the agency is facing “challenges finding qualified applicants” to fill open positions at driver license offices across the state, which reduces the number of appointments these locations can offer.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows a steady decline in local government jobs during the pandemic.
From March 2020 to Aug. 2022, the number of workers dropped by 5%.
DPS actually launched a new system in 2020 that was supposed to prevent customers from waiting in line, but it doesn’t appear to be working. Cancellations are affecting wait times, DPS says.
A spokesperson stated in an email:
“The current no-show rate is nearly 30% which negatively impacts our ability to offer those appointments to customers with availability.”
For customers like Champion and Garcia, they have to play the waiting game.
“Everywhere else was appointment only, and this was the only place I heard that was a walk-in,” Champion said.
Seven times was the charm for these two. They both got in at the South Austin office shortly after the doors opened at 8 a.m. All that standing in line finally paid off.
One solution we found to standing outside for hours is to wake up early the day you want to make an appointment and go online. Often, there are day-of appointments available, so you don’t have to wait in line as long.
Availability also varies depending on demand and resources in each city. You can also try smaller towns that have less demand.