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We're on WNYC. So starting next Wednesday, May 7, airline travelers will be required to have what they call a real ID in order to board even a domestic flight or enter a federal building in the United States. Now, for those of you scratching your heads, thinking, where have I heard about the real ID before? Well, the law mandating the change was actually

passed two decades ago under the Bush administration as a response to the terrorist attacks

of September 11, 2001. But the law kept getting delayed or implementation of it did,

mostly due to political pushback.

And with the deadline right around the corner, New Yorkers are scrambling to find appointments at

the DMV to update their licenses and media outlets are reporting long wait times for walk-ins

around the state. Obviously, this is not just happening in

New York, but there's that report. And joining us now with some news you can use on how to get a

real ID is Walt McClure, Director of Public Information, for the New York State Department of Motor

Vehicles. Walt, thanks so much for coming on. Welcome to WNRC.

Thank you. Thanks for having us. Hopefully I can give you some news you can use.

And listeners, we imagine some of you might have real ID questions, so our phones are open

at 212-433, WNYC, or you can text your question, 212, 433, 9692.

Or maybe you want to help us report the story.

If you've recently tried to get a real ID, how did it go, were you prepared, what documents

did you need, how long was the wait time to get an appointment, or were you able to just

walk in, help us report from

on the ground if you've recently gotten or tried to get a real ID, 212, 433, WNYC, or again, you can ask a

question, 212, 433, 9692. So Walt, remind us, why do we need these again?

Well, it obviously, this is a federal requirement that, as you said, as part of the 9-11 commission,

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