Motor registration in N.L. moves to appointment system, walk-ins for seniors
As government services in Newfoundland and Labrador emerge from the pandemic, the province's motor registration division is eyeing permanent changes to how it operates.
COVID-19 disrupted the walk-in model of old for anyone looking to get a licence, transfer vehicle ownership or an assortment of other related tasks.
Counter services were suspended entirely at points during the pandemic, and while in-person services have resumed, they're now largely by appointment only, with plans for that to become permanent.
Getting an appointment, however, is proving difficult for some.
Dan Chaisson rode his new motorcycle back to his western Newfoundland home from Ontario on June 13. When he called the next day for an appointment to get registered, he was told that could only happen a month later, on July 13, and if he wanted anything earlier, he should try calling back to see if there was a cancellation.
"Half the time I called — and I called literally every day, sometimes twice a day — there was a recording that said they were experiencing higher than normal call volumes and to call back. So that was frustrating," he said.
Chaisson eventually made it through and registered his motorcycle a week earlier than expected, by driving two and a half hours from his house in Pasadena to the service office in Grand Falls-Windsor. In contrast, while buying the motorcycle in Ontario he visited their motor registration services twice, and said he availed of their walk-in services for quick visits.
"It was night and day," Chaisson told CBC Radio's Newfoundland Morning on Monday.
The minister in charge of motor registration services apologized for any long waits, but said it's part and parcel of recovering from COVID-19.
"We're clearing up from all the backlog from the pandemic, so we have heard challenges across the province from people trying to get in," said Sarah Stoodley, of the Department of Digital Government and Service NL.
Adding to that backlog is a vehicle-buying surge, she said, creating "a significant increase in traffic to our offices."
What the future holds
Going forward, booking online for appointments will likely be the norm, Stoodley said. An entirely walk-in service caused issues, she said, such as long lines first thing on Monday morning coupled with very slow hours elsewhere, or big overtime costs for staff when, at closing time, there were still dozens of people waiting to be seen.
"We're trying to kind of smooth that demand, so that it's more efficient for our teams, but also people, the general public, you don't have to wait," she said.
That appointment service will be through online booking, she said. Chaisson worries what that will mean for the many groups who may not be digitally literate or have access to a computer.
"We have to be careful that we don't make things worse, in an attempt to make it better," he said.
Stoodley said her team is "still working through what the perfect model is." Anyone in need of urgent services can still drop by and attempts will be made to fit that person in, she said.
"There's a few things that we're working on, just to try and make things better for everyone in the province," she said.
Shortly after 4 p.m. Monday, Service NL issued a media release stating that beginning Wednesday, and every Wednesday thereafter, motor registration will provide walk-in counter service to seniors and those who require assistance from 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.
The department said those availing of the walk-in service on Wednesdays are asked to cancel any existing appointments with motor registration. Service NL said existing Wednesday morning appointments won't be changed.
"For the remainder of the week, services will continue to be available by appointment," the media release reads.
Those services include licence plate replacements, vision and on-road testing for driver's licences, photos for new licences and ID cards, in-transit permits, purchase or transfer of vehicles and the transfer of driver's licences and vehicles for anyone moving to the province.
A new website for motor vehicle registration services is expected to be online in about two weeks.
