From Hell to Heaven? The DMV Has Cut Wait Times in Half

On behalf of the millions of New Yorkers—citizens, customers, victims—who drag themselves to the Department of Motor Vehicles for essential tasks, a bold statewide initiative was undertaken in 2012 to lessen the wait times.

It has paid off, Gov. Andrew Cuomo asserted today.

In September 2014, the average wait time at state-run DMV offices was reduced to 30 minutes – down from an average of 72 minutes in March 2013. That’s a decrease of 58 percent in customer wait time.

According to reviews on Yelp!, the changes have been noticed (although the photo titled “Hell’s Waiting Room” was posted there too).

“Ok, yes, I am leaving a 5 star review for the DMV. WHAAAT? WHY???This is the easiest experience I have ever had. First of all, it was empty. No 5 hour wait like the last time I went to the one around 34th-ish. I was in and out in 20 minutes. Make an appointment online - yes that is a thing - and make sure you have all your documents,” wrote Jennifer S.

State officials said the “dramatic reduction” was achieved through a two-year process that included several key elements:

• A reservation system allows customers to reserve a day and time convenient for them without a wait
• Expanded office hours
• New technology at call centers to expedite the 4.5 million calls received each year
• Assigning employees to greet customers upon arriving at DMV offices in order to ensure they can efficiently navigate the the office and the documents needed
• A “vision registry” allows customers to have the results of required eye exams transmitted electronically from their vision provider to the DMV. After the results have been transmitted, the customer can renew their driver license online without having to visit a DMV office.
• Kiosks were also placed in most DMV offices to allow customers to process their own registration renewals and replacements, driver license and non-driver ID renewals and replacements, permit replacements, address changes and driver license record requests.
• Redesigned DMV website to improve the appearance and content, focused specifically on optimizing the mobile experience.

The website redesign apparently worked.

In 2014, the DMV website had 28 million visits, an increase of approximately one million from 2013. But there were fewer page clicks per user, indicating that customers are able to find the information they are looking for in less time. Specifically, the number of pages clicked per visit by customers has reduced from 6.25 pages per visit in December 2013 to 3.45 pages per visit in December 2014, state officials said.

PHOTO: screenshot of DMV review Hell’s Waiting Room by Alex S/Yelp

What’s your take? Have you been to a DMV office or used the website recently? Tell us about it in the comments.

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