BUSINESS : Pasadena DMV Office Now Open on Saturdays

Rick Garcia took one look at the long lines at the Pasadena DMV office last week, turned around and drove back home to Temple City.

“It was packed, easily a several-hour wait,” said the 27-year-old student, who had just moved from Arizona and needed a California driver’s license.

But he breezed through the lines Saturday, the first day of the Pasadena office’s new Tuesday-through-Saturday schedule.

Hundreds of others who came to the Pasadena office last Saturday found shorter lines and waits that lasted mere minutes. Clerks assisted about 1,254 people--about 450 fewer than on an average weekday.

Beginning this year, 23 of the 174 Department of Motor Vehicle offices statewide have opened their doors on Saturdays--most closing on Mondays--to accommodate working people and students who might otherwise have to take time off from work or school.

In the San Gabriel Valley, the Pasadena and Pomona offices will be open Saturday (though just half the day in Pomona) and closed Monday. The West Covina office will keep its Monday-Friday hours and stay open an hour and a half later--until 6:30 p.m.--on Monday.

On the down side, the new schedule is causing confusion: Nearly 100 motorists who showed up at the Pasadena office Monday found it closed. The DMV has tried to get the word out about the new hours by posting signs at its offices and sending out public service announcements to the news media.

DMV officials say anyone who must do business with the DMV on Mondays can use other nearby offices. West San Gabriel Valley residents could use the West Covina, Lincoln Park or Glendale offices on Mondays. Residents of the eastern valley could use the West Covina or Rancho Cucamonga offices.

At the Pasadena office last Saturday, many customers, as DMV officials call them, worried that the shorter Saturday lines won’t last.

“Being open on Saturday is a fabulous idea, but I fear they’ll be mobbed with people once everyone figures out they’re open Saturdays,” said Alhambra resident and elementary school teacher Carol Donuito, who had driven her mother to the office last Saturday for a driver’s license test.

Later that morning, parking spots and short lines inside the office were hard to come by, but DMV officials said the morning rush petered out in the afternoon.

New DMV Hours

The Pasadena office is open all day Saturday and the Pomona office is open for half a day on Saturday. The West Covina office will not be open Saturday but will stay open an hour and a half longer--until 6:30 p.m.--on Monday.

Pasadena, 49 S. Rosemead Blvd. 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. Closed Sunday and Monday. Phone: (818) 796-1228.

Pomona, 1600 S. Garey Ave. 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. 8 a.m. to noon Saturday. Closed Sunday and Monday. Phone: (909) 865-0097.

West Covina, 800 S. Glendora Ave. 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. Closed Saturday and Sunday. Phone: (818) 962-3661.