New DMV System is Digitized and for some, frustrating

Dana Malcolm and Wilkie Arthur 

Editorial Staff 

#TurksandCaicos, February 1, 2024 – The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) is pinning its hope for more seamless customer experience on a new digitized system that’s already been rolled out for residents.

Magnetic Media spoke to Fredrico Johnson, Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs on January 19 after multiple residents complained of extremely long wait times. What he showed Court Correspondent Wilkie Arthur, was a now completely digitized system and its potential hiccups.

Customers scan a barcode upon entry to the DMV office and are then taken to a signup website that allows them to take a virtual ticket. The customer is registered and added to the cue of waiting individuals. Thanks to text updates, residents can see exactly where they are in line and their estimated wait time.

Large flat screens display the current customer being served at the exact station.

“You can go, you can come back, you don’t have to stay here,” Johnson said of the system, which is designed for residents’ convenience. There is one problem showing the system down though.

“The problem we’re having with that is— [people] have access to the barcode so what they’re doing is signing in from home so you might see 96 [displayed] but 96 people aren’t actually here.”

In addition Johnson stressed that  it was the typical busy season for the DMV and police officers were working the country’s roads resulting in tickets for those disobeying the road rules. All these factors contribute to the lengthy wait he said.

As for residents who were in office but left and missed their turns, the DMV is still working out a response to that issue.

Despite the kinks still needing to be ironed out, the Deputy Secretary maintained that this new electronic trafficking of new licenses and renewals has improved service already.

“I think it’s an upgrade from what we had, before people were crowding and then you had a lot of tension,” he continued “We are stress testing now to see the limitations of the system.”

And according to the Ministry of Home Affairs, it’s not just a new check in routine, other upgrades are coming.

“I’ll give you the end goal for the DMV; you being able to stay at home, apply for your renewal or whatever service; submit the documents and get it,” Johnson continued with a description of what officials are hoping to put in place.

“We’re just developing the system where we can cross reference with other ministries.”

This would help the DMV to virtually assess the validity of documents, as fraud is increasingly an issue.

“One of the things we’re looking into is how do we manage persons who got their licenses through fraudulent ways. You have a lot of persons that have drivers licenses and cannot speak English.”

Johnson maintained that internal investigations were ongoing and officers were empowered to question individuals and revoke licenses if the holder was not sufficiently skilled.

Despite the crowds which were evident during our visit, Johnson was eager for residents to know that the DMV is working towards a solution to make their experience much better. He maintains that the broader project, which was created under the National Delivery Unit, had not been rolled out elsewhere, but was instituted at the DMV to answer the high volume of processing the motoring public legally requires.