Avon AAA Office Could Get A Little Busier for License Renewal

AVON, CT — Things could get busier at the local AAA office because it seems transactions will remain the same there, unlike at other locations.

The state Department of Motor Vehicles has announced that an agreement couldn't be reached with AAA Northeast for license renewals for non-members beyond Dec. 31.

"We hope this AAA franchise will reconsider our proposals, which we feel were fair and workable," said DMV Commissioner Michael Bzdyra in a statement. "In light of this development, we will begin exploring other avenues to maintain access to services for the people of Connecticut."

AAA Northeast has offices in Branford, Danbury, Fairfield, Hamden, Milford, Norwalk, Stamford and Waterbury.

AAA Allied locations will continue to service non-members and members. It has locations in Avon, Cromwell, Enfield, Manchester, Old Saybrook, Plainville, Waterford and West Hartford.

“The Department’s responsibility is first and foremost to the general public," Bzdyra said. "We need to maintain service levels while controlling costs. As such, we cannot subsidize a private organization’s provision of DMV services if that organization is not willing to find ways to serve the general public."

AAA Northeast earlier this year announced they were dropping licence renewals for non-members, which drew the ire of Gov. Dannel Malloy. Malloy threatened legal action and said AAA Northeast was obligated to provide 60 days written notice to terminate the contract. AAA Northeast later announced it would again accept non-members for license renewal service.

AAA Northeast spokesman Fran Mayko earlier this year said that several challenges made it impossible for it to keep offering licensing services to non-members. Licenses have to be REAL ID compliant, which increases processing time by almost 50 percent.

The number of office transactions has nearly doubled while the number of non-member transactions has increased from 17 percent five years ago to nearly 50 percent in 2016.

Photo Credit: Patch File