DMV Wait Times Increase With New Computer Software

Months after the state Department of Motor Vehicles implemented a new computer system, average wait times at most branches have more than doubled across the state.

In Hamden, the average wait time has jumped five times what it was in the fall of 2014, according to data just released by the DMV.

Through a Freedom of Information request, the NBC Connecticut Troubleshooters received a comparison of average waits at branches between the early fall of 2014 and the early fall of 2015. We learned waits have gone up a lot since the new system was put online in mid August. Here’s some of the wait time data:


                                Oct. 2014                                                 Oct. 2015

Bridgeport             38:36                                                         2:08:13
Danbury                 25:33                                                        1:12:08
Enfield                    41:44                                                        1:07:36
Hamden                 22:04                                                        1:54:54
New Britain           29:32                                                         1:48:48
Norwalk                 31:49                                                         1:34:47
Norwich                 32:02                                                         1:42:49
Old Saybrook        46:40                                                         2:01:58
Waterbury              26:38                                                         1:17:28
Wethersfield          40:43                                                         1:17:35
Willimantic             19:43                                                         1:06:37
Winsted                  27:20                                                         2:04:51

These numbers may not tell the full story. They include the time from when you get your ticket to wait in line to the time you first reach the counter.

Another interesting point, DMV workers tell NBC Connecticut the fall is their “quieter” season. During the spring and summer they say they have a higher volume of customers because people register convertibles, motorcycles, and other seasonal vehicles.

“We are reviewing this data closely. It is critical that we be faster and more responsive to customers because they deserve no less," DMV Commissioner Andres Ayala said in a statement on Thursday. "While we are just 11 weeks into the launch, we know that wait times must be brought down. We are working to resolve it," he said.

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