Carcieri Unveils Reduced Wait Times, Online Vehicle Registration.
At a press conference at the main Division of Motor Vehicles office in Pawtucket, Governor Donald L. Carcieri today unveiled several major customer service improvements at the DMV. The tangible improvements include a substantially reduced average waiting time for obtaining a driver's license; a new, customer friendly web site; the ability to renew vehicle registrations online; extended hours of operation on Thursdays; and significant equipment and infrastructure upgrades.
The Governor stated that these improvements had made the DMV more accessible to Rhode Islanders, while providing DMV employees with the tools necessary to more efficiently serve the public.
"Earlier this year I said that we must tackle the myriad issues facing the DMV. We're meeting the challenges head-on. And we are seeing results," Carcieri said. The Governor went on to highlight efforts to make the DMV more accessible and pleasant for the Rhode Island public.
Carcieri also noted the importance of providing DMV employees with the tools necessary to provide Rhode Island motorists with a high quality of service. "While we have enhanced services for customers, we have also dramatically improved the environment for dedicated state employees. My Fiscal Fitness team found that employees at this registry were hampered by the lack of essential equipment. We've fixed that. We have better equipment to give employees the tools they need to work efficiently and effectively."
In conclusion, Carcieri noted, "Whether you're an employee or whether you're a motorist, you will see tremendous improvements here."
The Governor announced that the average waiting time to obtain a driver's license at the main registry office in Pawtucket has been reduced substantially. The average waiting time in March of this year was one hour and twenty-one minutes. By October, the average waiting time was down to 23 minutes.
Governor Carcieri noted that the easy-to-navigate web site provides an impressive amount of information about registry functions. It lists answers to frequently asked questions and provides forms that can be downloaded and completed at home, which will help further reduce wait times.
The new web site also enables individual motorists to renew their vehicle registrations online. By using a credit card, customers can renew a vehicle registration on the DMV web site, obtain a receipt, and receive the new registration form and sticker by mail. This capability is valuable not only to people who have access to home computers, but it can be used by people using computers in public libraries. The new web site address is www.dmv.ri.gov.
Improvements at the DMV began several weeks ago with extended evening hours on Thursdays at the Pawtucket registry for people seeking driver's licenses. They continued with the addition of greeters to assist consumers at registry offices. Future improvements include an expanded system to allow new car dealers to register new vehicles directly on behalf of the purchaser, and a plan to allow AAA Southern New England to issue drivers' licenses to its members.