AUSTIN, Texas — Up to 2.7 million Texans could be getting a survey in their email inbox in the coming weeks and months, as part of a study on the management and operations of the Texas driver's license program.
A team of 15 researchers from the University of Texas at Austin is in the preliminary stages of the study after the State legislature passed SB 616 in May. The bill was signed by Gov. Greg Abbott on June 10.
“They want to minimize wait times, they want to get the process correct the first time, that there's a minimization of people having to drive back home to get a piece of information that they needed and didn't have with them,” said Mike Murphy, deputy director of the Center for Transportation Research at UT, which is leading the research team.
Murphy said Real ID requirements, which take effect in October 2020, make the driver's license renewal process more difficult. He said without a Real ID, you wouldn’t be able to board an airplane or enter a federal building.
Currently, the driver's license program is operated by the Texas Department of Public Safety. The study will look at the possibility of moving the program from DPS to the Department of Motor Vehicles.
Murphy and his team are surveying the public and driver's license employees as part of the first phase of the study.
“We're here trying to help the citizens of the State of Texas to have a more pleasant experience with driver's license renewal,” said Randy Machemehl, a UT professor who is part of the research team. “We're trying to look at the whole picture and see how best to help the citizens of the State of Texas in the most cost-effective way.”
RELATED:
If you receive the survey, the researchers urge you to complete it so they can use your responses to put together their final report. Once you start the survey, you have five days to complete it.
The final report, due next September, will be provided to Gov. Abbott, the legislature, DPS and the DMV.
PEOPLE ARE ALSO READING: