The scene at the National Motor Vehicle Commission agency in Bayonne was a throwback Thursday morning. People went inside without waiting in long lanes that plagued the MVC for months after its reopening in July.
But for several drivers, like Raphela Dumers from Bayonne, they were not aware of the transition from making an appointment to making a prior appointment. The result was that they walked away empty-handed except for a piece of paper with MVC’s website address to make an appointment.
“I wasn’t aware of it,” she said, and suggested that the MVC maybe offer a limited number of dates. “Maybe 10 at a time.”
This is the New MVC World Order, where more business will be done by appointment or online, even after the coronavirus pandemic has ended.
On cold days like Thursday, a few drivers waited inside the cars for their meeting. Interviewees said the experiment went smoothly.
“I liked it. It was very simple, very easy,” said Steve de Bayonne, who got his probationary license after passing a driving test. “It didn’t take that long.
Which MVC changes made during the pandemic will remain and which will go away?
Last year the commission moved many online transactions to reduce long queues of drivers at agencies after they reopened in July after being closed for four months during the coronavirus pandemic. Now almost all renewals can now be done online.
Then, in October, the MVC decided to start proposing appointments for other in-person transactions at an agency. More services have been added to the appointment list starting Monday.
“Online services will remain,” said William Connolly, a spokesperson for MVC. “We are currently focused on providing the best possible service to New Jersey residents during the pandemic. When the time comes, we will assess which changes will be permanent and which will not. “
So far, it is planned to keep the appointment system as is. A new website feature allows a user to see the next available appointment at each branch instead of having to navigate to a calendar to see the first available date.
A bilingual sign in the window of the National Commission for Motor Vehicles registration center in Bayonne tells customers that appointments are required to do certain business.
“We do not intend to make any substantial changes to the appointment system, although we will continue to monitor demand and optimize the mix of appointments available,” said Connolly.
Canceled appointments were drivers’ biggest complaint made at NJ Advance Media. Cancellations occur when the MVC has to shutting down an agency after an employee tested positive for coronavirus. Drivers have to reschedule their appointments and some complain that their documents expire before they can get a replacement appointment.
The registration and titling of a vehicle purchased through a private sale remains one of the greatest challenges of MVC. In the pre-coronavirus past, this was a walk-in transaction that could be completed in a day. Now drivers have said they can wait up to a month to put a vehicle on the road. Only one agency offered a same-day appointment to register and titrate a vehicle during a spot check on Monday.
Ed Fisher of Salem said he had been trying unsuccessfully to register a used truck since July and five appointments had been canceled by the MVC. His ability to register a vehicle was suspended because he listed the truck he expected to register on his insurance and dropped a police car. MVC officials resolved the suspensions.
“I had to go online every time and reapply, that date was always at least 30 days before,” he said. “You would have thought (since) that they canceled me, they could have prepared me for the next available date.”
Despite her most recent March date being canceled, Fisher said the dates were a good idea.
“I just want a system that is user-friendly and that works for everyone,” he said.
Mark Wagner has said he has to rent a car for a month until he can get an appointment to register and title a replacement for a broken down car.
“With my old car broken down and not being able to register my new car for 30 days, what were my options? ” he said. “I was able to get an appointment in Newton on March 11.
Wagner asked why a private sector solution had not been considered. Two invoices in the State senate and Assembly would allow authorized car dealers to issue titles and registrations for used motor vehicles purchased through private sales. Both are still in committee.
MVC officials said they are adding thousands of appointments every day.
“There are over 10,000 new tracks or recording appointments available in the next 30 days, but yes, most are in two weeks,” Connolly said. “We expect to have appointments available for virtually all transactions soon.”
The move to an all-appointment system shouldn’t happen until the MVC can do a better job rescheduling appointments, when conditions require them to be canceled, the member said. Assembly Daniel Benson, Chairman of the Transport and Independent Authorities Committee.
“An improved appointment system should be able to handle cancellations, and this should be a goal for the future, MVC is aware of this issue,” he said.
Before the pandemic, most of MVC’s business was done in agencies, which has changed, he said.
“Since then, our goal has been to remove as many transactions as possible from the agency, in order to reduce the number of transactions requiring an in-person visit,” said Connolly. “To date, we are at 27% of transactions in the agency, and we expect this to continue to decline. “
But some transactions will require an in-person visit, such as obtaining a driver’s license that meets federal real identity security requirements that allow it to be used as an ID for domestic air travel. This deadline has been extended by federal officials to October 1, 2021
“We continue to move online transactions to increase the in-person capacity required to issue real IDs,” Connolly said.
One change that should go away is designating agencies to transact driver’s licenses or vehicles when they were both doing both, Assembly member Benson said.
“The only COVID-19 solution that I hope we can eliminate, conditions permitting, is the designation of certain locations for certain transactions only,” he said. “While this may make sense during the pandemic, it has been confusing for customers and hopefully we can return to a one-stop-shop system when we do so safely.”
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Larry Higgs can be reached at [email protected].
