The North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles has officially launched its kiosk pilot program in partnership with Harris Teeter at three grocery stores across the state in an effort to curb long wait times.
As the DMV continues to face scrutiny for customer complaints and other operational problems, the kiosks will offer customers an alternative to waiting in line at a DMV location. Commissioner Wayne Goodwin introduced the public to the kiosk in north Raleigh during a press conference on Wednesday. He said the kiosk can be used to renew driver’s licenses and state IDs, order a duplicate ID, change one’s address, and update voter registration.
“The kiosk here today is one of three currently in operation. The other two are at Harris Teeter stores in Charlotte and in Fayetteville,” Goodwin said at the press conference. “This pilot is the latest effort aimed at improving the DMV customer experience.”
The kiosk pilot was initially set to begin last summer, the Carolina Journal previously reported. After a long delay, the DMV says it plans to expand the pilot by adding seven more kiosks in coming months.
More services are expected to be added, such as vehicle registration renewals and paying property taxes on a new vehicle. However, all current services offered at the kiosk can also be done online. While there is no cost to the state for the new technology systems, customers will be charged a $4.95 fee per transaction in addition to a 2.35% credit card processing fee.
The kiosk will print a Temporary Driver/Identification Certificate, just like one received at an in-office visit, to be used for up to 60 days until the official driver’s license or ID card arrives in the mail. An employee with Intellectual Technology, Inc., the private vendor providing the kiosk, demonstrated the process to the media at Harris Teeter. The company has worked with several other states to deploy kiosk machines.
The NCDMV is often a source of disruption for citizens who must make the inconvenient and time-intensive trek to a DMV office for services. State legislators recently slammed Commissioner Wayne Goodwin’s ‘broken’ operations at the DMV for causing major frustrations for North Carolina customers.
Goodwin told legislators in February that his agency has been working to make improvements over the last two years and that “we have a lot to learn and a lot to do.”
Other recent initiatives include hiring more than 250 new driver’s license examiners across the state, opening 45 offices at 7:00 am, and opening 16 offices for Saturday morning walk-ins from June through August during peak season.
The three Harris Teeter kiosk locations now in operation are: the Corners at Brier Creek (4221 Corners Parkway, Raleigh), Riverbend Village (4701 Smith Farm Road, Charlotte), and Highland Centre (2800 Raeford Road, Fayetteville).