As the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission continues to drag out the return to full-service locations and drivers complain about long rides to get the services they need, Senator Kristin Corrado said it may be time to call AAA for help.
“It is inexcusable,” said Corrado (R-40). “Drivers in our communities are being forced to travel 45 minutes to an hour each way to locations outside of their home county to complete some transactions while MVC slow rolls the full reinstatement of services at local agencies.”
This call comes in the wake of an announcement that the MVC will offer a handful of “hybrid” agencies that will perform both vehicle and licensing services.
“I am happy MVC is finally taking the first steps to giving some residents a practical one-stop shop, but these efforts must be expanded statewide, particularly in the most densely populated areas of New Jersey.”
To address service problems from the pandemic, some transactions were moved online, but Corrado noted that many motorists still need to meet face-to-face with an MVC employee to settle requirements.
“The service level is inadequate. MVC officials spend more time bragging about accomplishments than they do fixing failures in their own system,” Corrado noted. “There isn’t a single full-service location in Passaic, Bergen, Morris, or Essex counties. How can that be?
Corrado suggested that New Jersey could follow the lead of other states and accept help from AAA to improve accessibility.
“In dozens of states, drivers have been able to bypass lines and renew drivers’ licenses at AAA offices,” Corrado said. “It is a model that has been successful across the United States. It if works elsewhere, there is no reason it couldn’t work here.”
Corrado noted that across the state line in New York, AAA members can renew licenses and registrations, order replacements or duplicates, and change addresses without interacting with the state agency.
New Jersey MVC flatly refused to consider a similar arrangement here in this state that was proposed by AAA.