CHAOS AT THE REGISTRY

DMV offices are jammed as state shuts down services for computer upgrades

WOONSOCKET – It was pandemonium at the registry of motor vehicles Friday as customers swarmed the Pond Street DMV branch on the last day of business before a weeklong shutdown for computer upgrades.

The line snaked around the building before the doors opened in the morning and customers said they’d been waiting for hours to renew licenses, register vehicles and conduct other routine business.

“I came here early this morning and tried to beat it,” said Zoe Asiedu. “The line was around the building so I left and came back later.”

Asiedu, who came to the registry to renew her driver’s license, knew the DMV had announced earlier in the day that the grace period had been extended to Sept. 30 for motor vehicle credentials that expire this month. But Asiedu said that didn’t matter to her. “I’d just like to get it done,” she said. DMV Administrator Walter “Bud” Craddock said the extension of the grace period applies to licenses, registrations and other credentials due to expire between July 1 and July 31 – the latest in a series of steps aimed a minimizing disruptions due to the launch of the new computer system, set for Wednesday.

Earlier this week, Craddock announced that temporary license plates would also remain valid for 40 days, or twice as long as usual. In addition, the federal Transportation Security Administration has informed the DMV that individuals carrying Rhode Island credentials that expire during the computer transition period should not encounter difficulty during domestic air travel.

Still, the DMV recommends that anyone holding expired credentials carry a second form of identification.

“Rhode Islanders who have credentials due to expire in July would be the first affected by the project launch,” Craddock said. “They now can be assured the division is doing all that it

can to minimize the disruption they may experience as a result of the project.”

As bad as things were at the 217 Pond St. DMV branch, they were apparently even worse at other branch offices: Late yesterday afternoon, the DMV issued a statement announcing that the Westerly branch “is closing immediately to new customers for the day. Branch staff will be unable to take additional customers today due to high volume.”

All DMV locations in the state will be closing for periods ranging from a couple of days to a couple of weeks at some point next week.

The Pond Street branch will be closed from Monday to July 12.

Beginning July 13, the branch will reopen, but only for customers who make a reservation in advance via the DMV’s web site. The branch will remain open for reservation-only patrons through July 17, according to the DMV.

What happens after that, the DMV hasn’t said yet.

The closures are necessary to allow DMV staff to launch a new computer system that state officials say will reduce wait times, though improvements are expected to take some time. State officials say the Hewlett Packard computer technology could cost $100 million before the system is fully operational, but the state has only paid a fraction of that so far and it’s embroiled in a lawsuit with Hewlett Packard over the terms of the contract.

“The new computer system – known as the Rhode Island Modernization System (RIMS) – will replace an aging system that dates back to the 1970s,” the DMV says. “This new system will preserve decades of division records, enhance customer data security and allow for future customer service improvements by the DMV.”

The new computer system is expected to eventually reduce wait times at the DMV “although improvements will be a gradual process as workers become more familiar with the new system and the division adds functionality to perform more transactions online,” said Paul Grimaldi, a spokesman for the agency.

Residents who use the local DMV could see more changes than others: Last year, the DMV announced that it had signed a lease to relocate the Pond Street facility to a 5,000-square-foot building in Diamond Hill Plaza that used to house a McDonald’s fast-food restaurant.

That relocation is still in the works, but it won’t be a priority until state officials are satisfied they’ve successfully transitioned to a new computer system, according to Grimaldi.

“The DMV will move forward with its relocation plan after the launch and stabilization of the new computer system next month,” he said.

There is no date set for the relocation, he said.

Photo by Ernest A. Brown Customers wait in line outside the DMV on Pond Street, Woonsocket Friday. The Woonsocket DMV is temporarily closing on Monday, July 3 through July 12, as the registry upgrades to a new computer system.

Photo by Ernest A. Brown The scene inside the DMV in Woonsocket Friday, where waits of eight hours and lines stretching outside the building, were common, as the DMV readies for a shutdown here on July 3.

Photo by Ernest A. Brown Edward DeLeon, of Pawtucket, eyes the long line as he arrives with his daughter Balantina, 4, at the DMV in Woonsocket Friday. One woman complained that she had arrived at 9:15 a.m. and was leaving the registry finally at 2:40 p.m. Friday.