On Thursday, Paul Tine -- who was appointed to lead the department by the Governor in May -- was a panel participant at the North Carolina Transportation Summit in Raleigh, where he spoke about new technology coming to the department and gave updates on wait times and staffing.
Tine said the DMV's broader strategic vision is to create a modern, more streamlined experience for customers.
"Our vision is to be like a bank," he said. "You show up, you might have a 15-minute wait. You have a 15-minute transaction, maybe a 10-minute transaction. You're on your way."
Tine's only been in his new position for four months, but said it's clear that North Carolina needs an upgraded experience.
"We've got several projects that we're working right now to make it easier for our customers, come in easier to engage with DMV and and do so in a much faster pace," Tine said.
That includes exploring ways to incorporate AI into DMV systems, new scanners and getting more accurate data on DMV wait times so the department can post that information more quickly.
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It all centers around getting customers in and out the door faster -- and cutting back on head-pounding wait times.
"We got here in line at 6 a.m. and I got in at 7 a.m. At 11:15, I got called," said Julia Isrel, a customer at the Avent Ferry DMV location in Raleigh.
Isrel said she supports any change that would expedite the process, after making her second trip to the DMV in a week to try and get her license renewed.
"It's definitely gotten worse. I mean, I went last week to try and do it. My birthday's the last of the month that, I went to four different locations. They were all full," she said.
Kalyn Myers said she got to the Avent Ferry location to get her permit renewed around 5 am on Thursday, but there was already a line when she arrived.
"There's like 15 stations in there and only four people are working. So, you know, hiring more people to fill those stations could definitely help," Myers said.
In Thursday's panel, Tine addressed hiring challenges, saying the Governor gave them 30 days to fill positions, which has been a tall order. He said that vacancies are down and vowed to keep pushing.
"We already have some of those people that are out in the field and learning how to make transactions and help out those offices. If the legislature gives us a resource, we're going to maximize it and implement it immediately," he said.
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