Lamont Lays Out Plan To Fix CT DMV

WETHERSFIELD, CT — Democratic candidate for governor Ned Lamont laid out his plan to fix the state's woeful Department of Motor Vehicles. The state's DMV has been plagued by computer issues for several years that drive up wait times and make for a tedious customer experience.

"Errands that require 10 minutes in other states require a day off work in Connecticut," Lamont said. "Even efforts to upgrade the system become mired in delay and disappointment."

Lamont said one of the issues is that the DMV relies on three different computer systems that don't work well together. There is a licensing system that is running on a 40-year-old mainframe, a registration platform and then another online system for learner's permits and online payments.

"For too long, the DMV has focused on patchwork solutions rather than on creating a unified architecture," Lamont said. "If we don’t act now, we’ll continue to fall further and further behind."

Wait times at the DMV can exceed two hours.

Lamont said he wants to extend the time between license renewals to eight years instead of six and registrations to three years instead of two.

Lamont also wants to open DMV Express offices in 20 town halls across the state and deploy kiosks in other businesses for residents to handle simple transactions.

Image via Shutterstock