The Department of Motor Vehicles commissioner who inherited a messy computer system upgrade that has plagued the department over the past week says the agency is working to keep wait times under control.
"What we saw last week (was) 5,000 or so customers that could have done their transactions online in five to seven minutes and chose to stay in line and clog the line for others that had to be here," said DMV Commissioner Andres Ayala, who has held the job for less than a year.
Ayala said staff are working with customers, trying to tell them when they should be using online services rather than standing in line at DMV branches. Registration renewals, for instance, are a major service offered online that could take mere minutes for customers to complete.
"If you have the opportunity to do something online, take advantage of it. Whether it’s at home or your place of business, do it," said Ayala. "It’s going to be much quicker, at most five to seven minutes, as opposed to, as you alluded to, a two-hour wait or so."
Customers at the main branch in Wethersfield complained again Tuesday of long wait times totaling more than three hours in some cases to complete tasks like renewing commercial licenses and returning plates.
The agency announced Tuesday that it will temporarily close license photo centers in Stamford, Derby, Milford and Middletown in order to move staff to branches to deal with long lines.
The locations did not receive heavy traffic and were open limited times during the week, but agency officials say the staff will help to reduce wait times at other locations.
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The DMV has been dealing with growing pains following the installation of a new computer system that replaced an antiquated 40-year-old system this summer.
The agency closed branches for weeks over the summer to train employees on the new system that's been in the works for years.
Residents with licenses or registrations that expired after August 10 have an extended deadline of Oct. 11 to get them up-to-date as a result of the long lines. By that time, the system and lines should be under control, according to Ayala.
Ayala said online services are helping to ease the pressure on branches for now.
"We have seen an uptick in online services. It is getting through" he said. "I guess people have this habit of wanting to and showing up at DMV. We’re trying to change the culture and let them know that they don’t have to, that they have options."
