DMV License Lines Resemble Freeway Gridlock

Linda Haim, a Northridge social worker, had taken the morning off from her job to renew her driver’s license and car registration at the state Department of Motor Vehicles office in Van Nuys.

After a frustrating 1 1/2 hours--including 55 minutes in a slow-moving line for her written license test--she left with only her temporary driver’s license and frayed nerves.

“Ridiculous,” Haim fumed. “I’ll have to come back.”

Haim’s experience is hardly unique. Despite the much-heralded statewide computerization and adoption of an appointment system four years ago, residents are still creeping along in DMV lines that seem to mirror freeway gridlock. Officials acknowledge that an occasional patron even passes out in the process.

The average waiting times in San Fernando Valley offices are well above the statewide averages, according to DMV figures. In addition, those who want to bypass the lines by making appointments often are deterred by multiple busy signals and recorded messages.

‘Growth in Population’

“I don’t think the advantages we have in automation have kept up with the growth in population,” said Yolanda Ericsson, who manages the Canoga Park office. “We cannot accommodate all of the customers.”

Those who are able to use the appointment system can dramatically reduce waiting time. Express boxes in DMV offices provide a 48-hour turnaround for those who drop off their forms, officials say.

Computers have allowed the oft-maligned agency to cut in half the amount of time that it takes to process driver’s licenses and titles. This used to take 60 to 90 days; it now takes four weeks, said Diane Ward, Van Nuys office manager.

Moreover, the DMV opened an office in North Hollywood in November and plans to open two more--in Reseda and Simi Valley--later this year, a substantial increase in the number of Valley-area offices. DMV officials say this reflects the seriousness of local bureaucratic congestion and their determination to relieve it.

To speed the process, the DMV is leasing the new offices from businesses or individuals rather than building them, DMV spokesman William Gengler said. This has reduced planning, budgeting and construction time from as long as five years to six to eight months.

The Valley area was chosen for two of the 16 offices scheduled to be opened statewide this year because it has experienced an influx of residents, particularly immigrants, in recent years. Last year’s federal amnesty program for illegal immigrants significantly increased the number of those seeking licenses and vehicle registrations, officials said.

The Van Nuys office, for example, had a 29% jump in driver’s license applications in 1988, Ward said.

Appointment Saves Time

Figures for average waiting times indicate that consumers can avoid the DMV blues by making an appointment. Appointments for a written or behind-the-wheel license test or registration usually can be made at Valley offices within one to 10 days, officials say.

Statewide, the average wait for transactions without appointments was 14 minutes in November, the most recent period for which figures were available. The average wait for those with appointments throughout California was 4.2 minutes.

The time logged in the Los Angeles region--which had average waits of 18.6 minutes for no appointments and 5.4 minutes for appointments--was the highest in the state.

For the Van Nuys office, the average wait for those without appointments was 24 minutes for the license test and 22 minutes for registrations, Ward said. The longest waits were 55 and 40 minutes, respectively. The same day, those with driver’s license or registration appointments waited two to three minutes.

The numbers were similar for Arleta and Canoga Park. The shortest average wait at any of the offices was 17 minutes for a driver’s license test at Canoga Park. During peak periods at Arleta, the average wait for a license test was 41 minutes.

At the crowded Van Nuys facility, Janie Ortuno and Marque Coy recently personified the contrast between the appointment and no-appointment experience.

Ortuno, 33, a clinical audiologist from Sherman Oaks, had made a 9:40 a.m. appointment to get her license plates. The clerk helped her immediately. She had paid her fees and was out the door by 9:50. “Piece of cake,” Ortuno said, her face beaming.

Coy, 34, a sound engineer from Sherman Oaks, had made a driver’s license appointment but had been forced to cancel it. The result: one hour in line.

Occasionally, someone stops in their tracks.

“In every office I’ve worked in for the DMV, I’ve had somebody faint in the lobby for one reason or another,” said Ward, a 14-year DMV veteran. “It may be a pregnant woman or someone who does not like standing in line.”

Ericsson estimated that only 10% to 15% of Canoga Park office customers make appointments. Drew said the figure is 15% to 20% in Arleta. At Van Nuys, where more than one in three customers make appointments, Ward said, “we have a lot of repeat customers who realize the appointment system works.”

Some consumers maintain that the appointment system simply does not work because they are unable to get through on the phone lines.

Veronica A. Koncilya, an Arleta secretary, said she tried for 2 1/2 weeks to make an appointment to renew her registration. She said she gave up after being put on hold with a recorded message for five minutes or more 20 times. So she simmered for 34 minutes at the Arleta facility recently.