Folks From Bowling Green Aren’t All Happy With New ID and Driver’s License Center

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Local folks from Bowling Green have had some pretty bumpy rides with the new Real ID and Driver’s License Center. Since November 2021, renewing your driver’s license or hopping on to snag a Real ID might leave you frustrated and worn-out. Seems like state officials, with a majority agreement from circuit court clerks, thought regional offices were just the ticket for these tasks, but the residents might disagree.

Gone are the smooth-sailing days of waltzing into Brownsville Courthouse for license renewal. When my wife, Debbie, had a go at it, she was in for her fair share of stress. She had to go for a walk-in session because she overlooked that her license was expiring in just two days. And even if she’d caught it a month in advance, landing an appointment could have been a task as they get all booked solid two months ahead. This, you see, is the flip side of having a single office catering to a massive populace nearing a quarter of a million across six counties!

Here’s a slice of her experience

As she stood at the center on a typical Saturday morning after 8AM, she encountered a chaotic and disorderly queue spilling out the door, with no decent guiding staff around. Rude exchanges between the office folks and the customers were a common, rather shocking, sight. It took her around 3.5 grueling hours just to emerge out with a new Real ID and renewal – all this without stepping on any feet or causing a fuss.

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Mix of experiences from other locals

Now Debbie’s experience spins a tale in itself, but other locals had their own stories to tell. Folks like Karen King, John Lindsey, Elizabeth Miller, and Kim Ray had anything but pleasant experiences to recount. Problems ranged from difficulty in understanding non-native English-speaking staff to botched appointments and even a ruined Bahamas cruise.

“The entire setup was a disaster,” exclaimed Karen from Wingfield. “It turned complicated especially for the elderly folk who have no clue about computers and had a tough time making the drive to Bowling Green.

A few lucky locals however managed to sneak out with a comparatively better experience. Amanda Eicher and Nikki McGrew even said it was pretty smooth for them.

“The wait wasn’t long and the staff was really helpful”, expressed Amanda from Brownsville. “Although, would’ve been better if it was done back in Brownsville.”

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The new system’s side of the story

To take into account the other side of this tale, we reached out to the Bowling Green office to get some insight. When we got no direct comment, we mailed in most of the major complaints and asked for their response.

Mrs. Naitore Djigbenou, the Executive Director of the Office of Public Affairs for the KY Transportation Cabinet responded, stressing on their commitment to serving Kentuckians’ licensing needs efficiently and continuously improving to provide a better experience. She referred to the option of online appointment scheduling, online and mail-in driver licensing renewal, and an extended lifespan of cards as the brighter side of the arrangement.

Mrs. Naitore shared some more details to paint a picture of what goes into the new system and tried to clear the air about the botched vacation issue that affected John Lindsey’s family.

The final verdict?

Even with the governmental nuances in place to make things smoother and more efficient, the new Real ID and Driver’s License center setup may have missed the mark in pleasing the folks of Bowling Green. For many, the ease of yesteryears when renewing a license was a breeze, in their own neighborhood, is still a dearly missed reality.