Editorial: Customer service is improving at DMV

Monday, Feb. 2, 2004 | 8:49 a.m.

In terms of aggravation, standing in long lines at the Department of Motor Vehicles runs a close second to filling out income-tax forms -- it might even be at the top of the list for many Nevadans. Still, in recent years the DMV has tried to make efforts to decrease the waiting time, including hiring more employees. In addition to encouraging people to use postal mail for routine transactions, driver's license and registration renewal now is an option through the Internet. But not everyone has a computer, and even for those who do have one, some people still feel uncomfortable about sending money online.

A pilot project under way since September at the DMV's Carey Avenue branch in Las Vegas is trying to make things better, however. As the Sun reported Friday, instead of taking a number and waiting in line to be called, customers seeking to renew their registration can simply walk up to an automated kiosk in the Carey office and complete their business within a few minutes. That's no small matter. The average wait time at DMV offices can be excruciating -- 78 minutes at the West Flamingo Road branch (a maximum of more than four hours on bad days), 63 minutes at the Sahara office and 52 minutes at the Carey office. To get a sense of the kiosk's efficiency, the average transaction time is 86 seconds vs. 12 minutes with a DMV employee.

The DMV is encouraged by the positive response by customers to the kiosk, and the agency plans to install 14 more around the state, with at least two in each DMV office in Clark County. We're not sure if anyone will ever be ecstatic about going to the DMV, but it is encouraging that the DMV continues to take steps to make its operations more efficient and convenient.