CA state lawmakers push to cut down DMV wait times
The State of California is adding more options to cut down on wait times in DMV offices across the state, and some people in Santa Maria are excited about the improvements.
If you have been to the DMV in Santa Maria, you’ve likely experienced a long wait time. One Santa Maria DMV visitor said she waited more than four hours.
“So I’ve been waiting for about an hour and a half,” said Jacob Magana, A DMV visitor. “We walked in and waited there cause the line’s always packed.”
At Santa Maria’s DMV, the line is often out the door, and even finding a place to park can be tough.
“Getting here, trying to find a parking space was a challenge,” Charlotte Reasner, DMV visitor. “So we were glad that we got here 30 minutes early because we didn’t know the set up for parking was.”
The Department of Motor Vehicles plans on combating those long waits with new features like check-in kiosks, self-service terminals, and longer hours with more employees.
But don’t get too excited, these features haven’t come to Santa Maria yet, but many people say they’re excited to try them out.
“Yeah that sounds like a great idea,” said Magana. “If they could have some extra kiosks outside so that people could just sign in from there and then wait and then get their call waited – that’d be a great idea.”
“If they had more personnel to help you, at least they could explain at your first appointment what you need so when you come for your second appointment, you can bring everything,” said Gomez.
Some people suggested that Santa Maria should just get a second DMV location to help with the overflow.
“A second DMV might be a really good idea,” said Reasner. “We came from Bakersfield where there are three DMVs that we could go to, but all of them are packed no matter what.”
“A second DMV would be great just because the closest ones to us are Lompoc and San Luis Obispo and that’s 30 minutes to drive instead of another one here and having people go through a lot faster,” said Magana.
State lawmakers met in Sacremento to discuss these long wait times on Tuesday. The Department of Motor Vehicles says they have budgeted hiring hundreds of people that will deployed across the state to start making improvements
