When I needed to renew my driver’s license last September, I texted the DMV’s remote-access Dash Pass system, got in a virtual line and let the DMV gods do their thing. I showed up hours later, ready to get my new ID, when an employee informed me I wasn’t in the database. I begged and pleaded my way into the line—but my faith in Dash Pass had been squashed.

Whether my experience was typical or not, the Nevada DMV has ended remote access at all four Valley locations. “We noted we were getting a high percentage of no-shows—as much as 20 percent,” says DMV public information officer David Fierro. Customers can still leave the DMV and receive text updates on line status; they’ll just have to get in the queue in-person, first. Fierro says, following the July 22 switch, the Sahara branch went from an average wait time of 112 minutes to 41; Flamingo from 125 to 80, Decatur from 123 to 82 and Henderson from 138 to 76.

The DMV is at work on an appointment-based system, to be introduced later this year, and Fierro says 70 new DMV employees will be trained and ready to help alleviate long lines in Southern Nevada come September. Beyond that, Fierro has a useful tip about timing: “A lot of people believe if they’re there first thing in the morning, they’ll be able to get in and out, [but] we have 200-300 people lined up before we even open.”