We need to talk about something deeply unsettling: a government service that actually works.

The California DMV — yes, that DMV, the one that's become shorthand for bureaucratic misery — has a feature called "Get In Line" that lets you join the queue online, watch your place in real time, and then drive over when your number is approaching. No appointment needed. No showing up at 7 AM to stand behind 200 people who all had the same bright idea. No reading every poster on the wall twice while contemplating your life choices.

One person reported being in and out in about 10 minutes total. Ten. Minutes. At the DMV.

As one Bay Area resident put it: "It's been there for a while. It's super convenient. Saves literally hours. Two weeks ago I did it and my number was 180. Left the house when I was 40, which was almost 2 hours later." In other words, you wait at home — on your couch, doing your job, living your life — instead of marinating in fluorescent lighting.

Another local admitted they'd "been avoiding DMV trips for months because last time I waited like 3 hours just to renew registration." Same. We've all been there, or more accurately, we've all been avoiding going there.

Here's the thing: this is what government services should look like. Respect people's time. Use technology that already exists. Stop treating citizens like they have nowhere better to be. The fact that this feels revolutionary tells you everything about how low the bar has been set.

The "Get In Line" service works for car registration, license renewals, and Real ID transactions — basically the stuff that drags most of us into a DMV office in the first place. You can access it through the DMV website.

Credit where it's due: someone in Sacramento figured out that a virtual queue is better than a physical one. It probably took a $4 million consulting contract and three years of committee meetings to reach that conclusion, but hey — results are results.

Now if only Muni could take notes.