VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Frustrations at the Department of Motor Vehicles.
More than a year into the pandemic people are still waiting months for an appointment or driving hours to a location that is not close to their home.
For Karen Escalante, a trip to the DMV wasn’t just around the corner.
She said, “I drove here in the morning, I woke up early.”
Before taking her driving test at a DMV she and her husband made a three-hour commute to this DMV in Virginia Beach. Escalante lives in Northern Virginia.
“I tried to get an appointment over there but I couldn’t so this is the closest one I found, other ones were like six hours away. Something like that,” she said.
Escalante is one of many who had to wait months for an appointment.
“To get this one, I waited more than 60 days. I think like 72 or something like that,” explained Escalante.
DMV spokeswoman Jessica Cowardin said the appointment-based system is here to stay for now.
“It’s efficient and our customers really appreciate that they can schedule an appointment and walk-in and take care of businesses and be on with their day,” she explained.
Over the past couple of weeks, DMV added more than 100,000 additional appointments across the state to allow more people to get what they need to be done. Carol Tolbert told 13News Now that she likes the appointment-only system.
She said, “For me, it might not work for everyone, but for me, I think it’s a good thing.”
For Escalante, she wishes getting an appointment was easier and possible where she lives.
“Thank God, I passed it. Now enjoy some food in the area and head back to my city,” Escalante said.
Cowardin said before you try and get an appointment for an in-person visit, check to see if you can do your transaction online. DMV added several services there.
Cowardin said one big problem DMV leaders are having is people are not canceling their appointments. Since the pandemic, more than 600,000 people have not shown up to their appointments. That number is out of 2.5 million people served.
She said, please remember to reschedule or cancel if you can’t make your time slot.
Author's Note: The video below is on file from Nov. 23, 2020.