A few solutions for our DMV problem
Fellow Rhode Islanders will be interested in reading this. If you are not among this group, I doubt you will show interest in what I have to say.

I don't know of a Rhode Islander who doesn't dread going to the DMV. A time comes when we all have to, and we hate it. Having to goto the DMV usually means that you have to take a day out of work and wait in line for an insane amount of time to even find out if you have the correct documentation to register your car, get a license, etc. When you try to call the DMV to see if you have everything you need, all of the numbers are constantly busy and you have to press redial for 15-30 minutes, and you might get through.

I accompanied my friend to the DMV today. To receive 10 minutes of help to get her car registered, we had to wait 3 and a half hours. Even though the bubbler didn't work, you are not supposed to bring food or drink into the building. Even the bathroom was unsatisfactory, graffiti everywhere and you couldn't dry your hands because the hot air blower was hanging off the wall by a thread. And where do you sit while you wait for a long time? In wooden pews that lack cushions or even angles that contour to a human body. I guess we are supposed to kneel in front of these pews and pray that our number is called soon.

Even the location sucked. After following the signs in town and couldn't find it, we stopped at a gas station to ask for directions. They told us, I kid you not, that we had to cut through a parking lot to get to it. There was absolutely no signage for the DMV entrance on Main St., save for some decals in the window that you cannot see from the road.

It doesn't have to be this way.

I've had to deal with the DMV in two states: RI and Ohio. In Ohio, I was given the run around, but at the very least I was able to call DMV (BMV there) offices, an was able to goto the offices and only wait in line 10-20 minutes. They have offices setup all over the place, and the selection of offices cuts down on excessive lines. If the lines in an office are long, they have a worker go through the line person by person, asking them what they need to do and seeing if they have the right documentation. The system there is far superior to our DMV in RI. The two biggest "improvements" our DMV has gone though in the past decade is the opening of an office at the mall that actually stays open past 3:30, and having people take tickets so they can wait until their number is called instead of standing in line. Nice, but nothing monumental. There hasn't really been a change to the system.

So, having to sit at a DMV office for almost 4 hours today, I thought of a few solutions.

Privatize it. Generally, when it comes to the privatization of government services (schools, water supply, etc,), I'm against it. But this Republican solution to problems makes a hell of a lot of sense where the DMV is concerned. This office had 7-8 workers on with over 200 people in the building waiting to be served. If any profit-driven business did this on a regular basis like the DMV does, they would be driven out of business because customers would leave and get their services from the competition. So, simple solution: the DMV needs competition! The state can create jobs and contract DMV services out to a few corporations, creating competition, which will lead to a drive for prompt and more precise customer service. More offices, short lines, phone numbers that you can call and they won't be busy, and a website that actually gives you some information. The state budget may take a hit, but this would put more money back in the pockets of businesses because their workers won't have to take a day out of work just to got the DMV.

I salivate at the thought of the perks that might come to us customers from DMV privatization: comfy seats, food and (non-alcoholic) drink in the buildings, and the uncomfortable seats I had to lounge in today made me think that a massage would be great.

Libraries. Every town has a library, why not throw a DMV office in a library in every town? If the line is long, then at the very least I have a wide selection of books and magazines to read. We could also have local DMV offices at town hall.

Communications. The DMV needs a telephone number that works. This is a fundamental part of business. If they can't fix the landline, at least develop a website that answers some basic questions, like what do I need to register a car? Right now, you can't get these questions answered without going to the DMV and waiting a long time. Then if you don't have everything, you have to take another day out of work and repeat the whole process all over again. It's ridiculous.

Karaoke. Fridays only.

New management. The manager I saw today was 5'6" and he had to have a 60" waist line. Given the state of his DMV office, it didn't look like he did much of anything besides suck down a paycheck. I hate to point out his physical appearance, but I instantly thought of it as a metaphor for the DMV: bloated and lazy. On top of that, he was the only male there amongst an office of middle aged women workers who did all the work and took all the shit for the mismanagement of the office. We need to fire his ass and promote one of those women.

These are a few of the, I think, reasonable solutions I thought of. Basically, I think that if my tax dollars are going to pay for the DMV, then it's a problem is I have to take a day out of work and spend a few hours at the office where I might get service. Other states, like Ohio, have better systems: more offices, more workers, shorter lines, and shorter waits. It's time Rhode Island shaped up its DMV, because we shouldn't have to take a day out of our lives just to get business done there.