There’s a light at end of that DMV tunnel

Tuesday, Sept. 14, 1999 | 10:39 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- It's tough to tell when the long lines of motorists trying to register their cars or get a driver's license at the Department of Motor Vehicles and Public Safety offices will start getting shorter, Gov. Kenny Guinn said Monday.

The wait at the DMV offices got much longer last week when the department installed a new computer system called Project Genesis. The system is expected to make the whole process more efficient and quicker and eventually provide more services to motorists.

But while the bugs are being worked out, lines have grown longer, and DMV officials have asked the public to conduct any business it can through the mail.

At a news conference where he unveiled a plan to study state spending and revenue needs, Guinn praised the DMV workers who are on the front line handling the transactions of the $35 million system. Since it started a week ago, citizens have had to wait hours before getting service, but Guinn said that happens in private business whenever there is a changeover of computers.

Without the new computer system, he said, the lines would continue to grow.

The system not only has been slow, but there have been errors in motor vehicle titles and problems with state workers entering the correct information into the system.

But Guinn said the system is getting better.