Connecticut Gov. Malloy Wants To Reduce Wait Times At DMV

HARTFORD, Conn. (CBSNew York) -- Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy has introduced legislation aimed at reducing wait times at the Department of Motor Vehicles.

One way to streamline wait times at the DMV is to privatize more of its services, according to Malloy.

"We know that the way government does business in this new economic reality must change, that the customer – our neighbors and residents – must come first," Malloy said in a statement. "Long wait times experienced by customers at the DMV is simply unacceptable."

Currently, licenses can be renewed at the AAA and the governor's initiative suggests vehicle registrations be outsourced as well.

State representative Gail Lavielle, a member of the transportation committee, supports the idea.

"I am happy that the governor is behind this," Lavielle told WCBS 880's Fran Schneidau. "Privatizing more DMV services is something that I have been behind for a long time."

Right now, AAA charges a fee of $3 to non-members for license renewal and this initiative would raise the fee to $5, making it more economically viable for an outside provider to perform routine DMV transactions, Schneidau reported.

Connecticut overhauled its previous computer system in February 2015, with hopes that it would cut back on wait times for customers.

But by November 2015, it seemed that the system switch was counterproductive, with wait times increasing from the reported average of 30 minutes, to several hours.