RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — As the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles continues to be plagued with long wait times and other challenges, DMV leaders from multiple states came together Thursday to discuss ways to modernize their respective agencies.
“Our vision is to be like a bank,” NCDMV Commissioner Paul Tine said. “You show up, you might have a 15-minute wait, you have a 15-minute transaction.”
According to Tine, the average statewide wait time is around two hours and 45 minutes from the moment a customer checks in. While new walk-in procedures mean drivers no longer have to show up hours before offices open, that number does not take into account how long people wait to get checked in.
“[That number] is not anywhere near where we need to be,” he said.
Wait times were one of several challenges DMV leaders from North Carolina, Virginia, and South Carolina discussed during Thursday’s panel, where they bounced ideas off of each other on ways to innovate and improve customer experiences.
“The beautiful thing about being a public servant, and even at the DMV, is that you’re not in competition,” Virginia DMV Commissioner Gerald Lacker said. “You can share a lot more.”
Several different innovations discussed during the panel included the utilization of AI technology and the ability to move more services online.
In North Carolina, one of the biggest ongoing technological projects is replacing scanners, a move the division estimates could create up to an additional 125,000 transactions a year.
“We recognize we have stable systems that can be built upon in the short term,” Tine said.
Long term, the DMV is also looking for outside help to help modernize its systems.
“Instead of saying we’re going to prescribe exactly what we want you to look like with code and everything else, we said, here are our problems, here are the outcomes we want see, you tell us how you’re going to solve it,” Tine said.
Tine is also confident the addition of dozens of new drivers license examiner positions both this year and next will help cut into wait times.
While Thursday’s speakers stressed that DMV’s are uniquely different in each state, all three have seen similar challenges, including wait times and large staff turnover.
Harrison Grubb
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