No REAL ID? That'll be $45.

[citruscurtis]

Heard that on news.... thanks for Amtrak

 

[hardcorestitch]

Heard that on news.... thanks for Amtrak

Amtrak is just as prone to delays as airplanes or any more of transport. No matter how you get to your final destination… pack some PATIENCE! Not gonna lie, Amtrak does make up delays with CINEMATIC views and cozy vibes.

 

[citruscurtis]

Amtrak is just as prone to delays as airplanes or any more of transport. No matter how you get to your final destination… pack some PATIENCE! Not gonna lie, Amtrak does make up delays with CINEMATIC views and cozy vibes.

Well.... you want it to be late if traveling Coast starlight northbound

 

[Debbie Jean]

Continuous documentation at the DMV in NJ is only one of the problems with a very broken system. Real ID implementation was late in coming here. And honestly you couldn’t sell your first born for an appointment… and no admittance without an appointment. Problems with DMV funding and staffing mean waits of 3+ hours with the appointment. Many people in NJ have passports and have done perfectly well traveling on that.

I have to digress and say the problem I had with name variation came decades ago when I was married in Cambridge, while living in Chicago… this was the mid 70’s for those who remember the political climate in Chicago back then. The federal government updated my passport with my married name one way but the DMV in Chicago did it another way… could have, should have challenged it then. But this was a place when I brought a document that wasn’t notarized actually sent me out to the hot dog vendor in front of the building… yup, he had his seal tucked between the mustard and ketchup bottles. Not a place to really argue. I was happy to get my license.

When I moved to NJ a few years later some accounts read one way, some another. Didn’t make any real life difference. Federal government never had an issue… taxes, SSA, Medicare are fine. The Real ID as implemented in NJ was when the poop hit the propellers. Glad I retired… had the time to deal with documents, appointments and the waiting. I really feel for folks here, though, who try as they might just can’t cut a break!

 

[tvguy]

Amtrak is just as prone to delays as airplanes or any more of transport. No matter how you get to your final destination… pack some PATIENCE! Not gonna lie, Amtrak does make up delays with CINEMATIC views and cozy vibes.

LOL. If I want to go from Sacramento to Los Angeles on Amtrak, I have to get off the train in Bakersfield and get on an Amtrak bus.

 

[hardcorestitch]

LOL. If I want to go from Sacramento to Los Angeles on Amtrak, I have to get off the train in Bakersfield and get on an Amtrak bus.

Amtrak… Rebus Travel

 

[mjkacmom]

I get all that but sounds like the case you're making for New Jersey is that the burden for the person is the same whether it's a normal DL or a REAL ID when for many other people the REAL ID is way more burden on them compared to what their normal ID is (hence the reason why there are still a slew of people without REAL IDs).

I can't help what your state wants in terms of documents for renewal. But to put a spin on this if every time you renew you need 6 points of identification and your license renews every 4 years (I believe that's what I saw for NJ) then I'm going to say the hoopla over documentation may be overestimated as an issue. For people who are really struggling with getting the documentation for REAL ID it's because it's the first time they are having to do it. People married 50 years ago who changed their name are now struggling to locate a way to get a certified copy of why their name is the way it has been for many decades. That doesn't mean people won't struggle obtaining the documentation each time they renew but that may just be a reason why NJ opted for stricter documentation proofs for just regular renewals as a means of constant verification of identity. States have to look at their own situations for what rules they may create based on their own populations but the REAL ID Act was meant to bring everyone on one level instead of differing procedures.

I can absolutely understand the annoyance at having to do it every renewal but you'd be used to it by now and seemingly doesn't seem all that different than having to get a REAL ID. But for REAL ID many people are in the same boat of having to prove a multitude of documents over and above what their normal state has for normal DLs.

I don't doubt there are appointment difficulties although crazy that it took until covid to have different offices for different services. People complain about DMV wait times here and we have 4 locations in my county for DL stuff with vehicle title and registration separate and available at 2 locations and it's been that way for numerous years. And my county has 1/5th of the entire state's population.

The core of my comments was for REAL ID is when I looked at the documentation requirements I didn't see this as so entirely different than my state, asking in different ways yes with the 6 points stuff but actual documents not really. So when someone says "this is ridiculous" I'm like okay but I had to have the same stuff (well I didn't because I had done stuff down the road that already provided my state what they wanted but I still brought it all with me and the state is still asking for specified documents). Now as for showing the documents for a REAL ID for renewal I agree that's annoying because you don't have to in my state BUT given that it's the same rules for a regular DL and that's been an established practice New Jersey appears to just be treating REAL IDs like they have regular DL where the state themselves does re-verification every renewal. Sounds like they are saying we'll submit the information to the required database but we'll do our checks like we normally do. Annoying for sure but sounds like it would be the same even if the ID wasn't a REAL ID and was just a regular DL.

The issue with NJ isn’t the amount of documentation, we are used to that, but trust me, getting appointments has been nuts. Starting early 2025, if your regular license was not expiring within 3 months, you were not eligible for a real ID appointment. Before that, they were still like winning the lottery, even if you had to travel a couple of hours. Now it looks like you can make appointments several months out, but there are always long lines and waits. Fortunately NJ has the highest percentage of passport holders (68% vs. 17% with real ID, which is the lowest percentage, but not because of laziness, which I 100% blame the state for).

 

[Rogue1677x]

My last trip to SFO, the TSA agents had trouble scanning my Real ID (I originated travel from Boston). The agent just looked at me and said I needed to bring my passport now...I told her, no, they needed to fix their machine or try another way.

After a little discussion with a supervisor, who was confused, they let me through.

 

[bcla]

LOL. If I want to go from Sacramento to Los Angeles on Amtrak, I have to get off the train in Bakersfield and get on an Amtrak bus.

The Coast Starlight goes direct from Sacramento to Los Angeles without a bus. But it's generally going to be the most expensive option. There are a lot of different ways, including through San Jose, and even train/bus/train combos. Or even bus/train/bus.

Also - they recently renamed the San Joaquins as "Gold Runner".

https://goldrunner.com/

 

[tvguy]

The Coast Starlight goes direct from Sacramento to Los Angeles without a bus. But it's generally going to be the most expensive option. There are a lot of different ways, including through San Jose, and even train/bus/train combos. Or even bus/train/bus.

Also - they recently renamed the San Joaquins as "Gold Runner".

https://goldrunner.com/

LOL. Looking at the map of the route, not sure how "direct" it is. 15 hours too, yikes.

 

[bcla]

LOL. Looking at the map of the route, not sure how "direct" it is. 15 hours too, yikes.

I took it a few times with the kiddo, just on an excursion ride. It's got great views, but they do tend to take their time getting there. I remember going from Richmond (back when the Coast Starlight stopped there) to San Jose. It was cheap, especially with a AAA discount, but took 2 (scheduled) hours to get there. Part of it was the dwell time in Oakland where they replenished the dining car. The other part was that they just crawled between Oakland and San Jose just as part of the schedule.

The bus/train combos will be faster. I've done those quite a few times to get from the Bay Area to LA/OC or back. Have done train/bus and train/bus/train. It's been transfers through Bakersfield, Santa Barbara, or even San Luis Obispo. A few of them were overnight although it gets kind of weird trying to sleep when the driver calls out stops. The oddest was one guy who seemed to take off at the break stop and left his wallet and ID behind. Been there a few times when they skipped the meal stop because traffic was supposedly bad. And the great thing about some of these routes is the flexibility to take a different train number on Capitol Corridor or Pacific Surfliner. I've been scheduled to go from LA to home through Santa Barbara, and I intentionally took the morning train and spend some time in Santa Barbara when my scheduled train was supposed to meet up with a bus that left at 10 PM.

 

[tvguy]

I took it a few times with the kiddo, just on an excursion ride. It's got great views, but they do tend to take their time getting there. I remember going from Richmond (back when the Coast Starlight stopped there) to San Jose. It was cheap, especially with a AAA discount, but took 2 (scheduled) hours to get there. Part of it was the dwell time in Oakland where they replenished the dining car. The other part was that they just crawled between Oakland and San Jose just as part of the schedule.

The bus/train combos will be faster. I've done those quite a few times to get from the Bay Area to LA/OC or back. Have done train/bus and train/bus/train. It's been transfers through Bakersfield, Santa Barbara, or even San Luis Obispo. A few of them were overnight although it gets kind of weird trying to sleep when the driver calls out stops. The oddest was one guy who seemed to take off at the break stop and left his wallet and ID behind. Been there a few times when they skipped the meal stop because traffic was supposedly bad. And the great thing about some of these routes is the flexibility to take a different train number on Capitol Corridor or Pacific Surfliner. I've been scheduled to go from LA to home through Santa Barbara, and I intentionally took the morning train and spend some time in Santa Barbara when my scheduled train was supposed to meet up with a bus that left at 10 PM.

My son did the train/bus once. His girlfriend (now wife) was from there. He was tired of driving, but the train put him back on driving to save 10 hours.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Bizarre deal with REAL ID (RI) in PA. While you can pick up the non-RI drivers license at the DMV when you renew, the RI one has to be mailed to you for some reason. Real pain for me as I work out of state and am not at home to receive the mail often. They did give me a printout to carry around until I got the actual license, but not sure how the MD or VA cops might deal with that. Fortunately did not have to find out and now have my new RI license which is good for four years in PA.

My niece lives in PA and needed to get REAL ID for a spur of the moment trip last spring. The King of Prussia location actually hands out the Real ID at the end of your appointment. The line was insanely long.
I've had mine for a few years but dh just uses a pasport. It's so much easier and renewal can be done online now without having to mail the old one in. I haven't done that yet but we will in the spring for dh.

 

[wvjules]

I had to renew my DL yesterday. I had an appointment for 4:15. Arrived at 4 and checked in online from my car. Before I even had time to get out of my car I got the text that I could be seen at terminal X. I was in and out in 15 minutes. And we have real ID in MD. I was surprised at how quick it was.