State officials are testing out a new online checking system in one of the places that tends to get the biggest complaints about long waits – the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.
The “Get In Line, Online” system has been in development since last year.
It allows users to log on to the Ohio BMV site, select the service they want, and pick one of 12 pilot sites, which are mostly in Columbus, they want to visit. They’ll then get a four-hour window to check in and skip ahead toward the front of the line.
BMV registrar Charles Norman said the system will provide new data on wait times – to the state and to customers.
“With the new system, when they go online, they’ll be able to see what are my 10 closest agencies and exactly what are the wait times at those agencies," Norman said.
Norman said this could cut down wait times for some of the estimated 16 million transactions the BMV conducts each year. If it’s successful, it could expand to more of the state’s 186 deputy registrar locations.
The Columbus area locations that are participating in the pilot program to skip the line are:
- 1583 Alum Creek Drive, Columbus
- 112 Dillmont Drive, Columbus
- 2970 Hayden Run Plaza, Columbus
- 4503 Kenny Road, Columbus
- 4161 West Broad Street, Columbus
- 5287 Westpointe Plaza, Columbus
- 3040 Southwest Blvd., Grove City
- 4740 Cemetery Road, Hilliard
- 17 Cherri Park Square, Westerville
The other sites offering the skip the line program are 22125 Rockside Road in Bedford, 104 W. Spring Valley Road in Centerville and 8210 County Rd. 140 Suite A, Findlay.
