A trip to the DMV is about as pleasant as being punched repeatedly in the face for half-an-hour. There are almost always long lines, the place typically smells like death, and I’m pretty sure no one has smiled in a DMV office in the state of California since at least 1983. As the Sacramento Bee points out, things have gone from bad to worse at the DMV – which is something I didn’t even think was possible.
Over the last year, spiking wait times have hit particularly hard at DMV offices in the Sacramento region. Waits have increased by 60 percent, compared to a 48 percent increase in the Bay Area and 46 percent statewide. Some California lawmakers are infuriated with the DMV’s handling of the issue, accusing upper management of fudging wait times, misleading the public and poorly preparing itself for increased customer traffic expected with the advent of the Real ID card, which requires a visit to the DMV.
When the Legislature reconvenes on Aug. 6, rising wait times will be at the top of the list of priorities. Some are calling for a comprehensive audit into the department’s management, and Democrats are considering a plan to provide more money.
Yes, you read correctly. There has been a 46% increase in wait times in California! And it doesn’t look like anything is going to bring that number down anytime soon.
The Director of the DMV admitted there are problems, but says they are working on fixing them and blamed bureaucratic delays in getting spending authority to hire more workers, some employees not being able to adapt to updated workflow, and customers not bringing in the right documents.
The DMV says it is also working to better display actual wait times – since the current system only estimates the time spent waiting after someone gets a number and the line to get the number can be excruciatingly long.
The Sacramento Bee’s story is worth a read and details some truly terrible experiences people have had at the DMV. Take a few minutes to read and keep your fingers crossed that you don’t have to visit a DMV office anytime soon.
