State lawmakers should take a cautious approach to privatizing services offered by the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles. That’s according to a study requested by the General Assembly and obtained by WUNC.
The Joint Legislative Transportation Oversight Committee requested the study as it examines delays, long lines and staff shortages at DMV offices across the state. The problems are especially acute in the fast-growing Triangle region, but rural offices are struggling to retain staff. Three license offices have closed in the last month, though one was able to reopen after borrowing staff from another location.
Researchers from the Institute for Transportation Research and Education (ITRE) at North Carolina State University and the Bryan School of Business and Economics at UNC Greensboro examined NCDMV’s operations and looked at privatization examples from other states. Some North Carolina services are in private hands, such as issuing vehicle titles and license plates, as well as emissions and safety inspections. The authors recommend the DMV could save money by outsourcing mail services and using a vendor to shuttle license plates to plate offices. When it comes to driver services, such as issuing licenses and learner’s permits, the authors says more research is needed.
“The research team strongly cautions against a hasty implementation of this Driver Services privatization,” the report said, citing a chaotic privatization effort in New Jersey in the mid 1990s. Almost all DMV services were privatized, which led to confusion and poor customer service, according to a 2002 report. The state then brought its DMV back under state control.
If North Carolina lawmakers want to move forward with privatization, the NC State and UNCG study recommends “a modular approach based on initially conducting a thorough and comprehensive study of all services and processes currently being offered by Driver Services” as well as consideration of the risks of placing the private information of millions of North Carolinians in private hands.
“Any outsourcing that risks the security of said data must be coupled with a stringent data security plan that is frequently monitored and overseen by NCDMV staff for compliance,” the report said.
The study also lays out potential short-term fixes to wait times. These include recalculating wait targets, which have been in place since 2017, removing fees for online transactions, and making it easier for people to join the line from their computer or smartphone before showing up at a NCDMV office.
A major roadblock to modernizing the agency, according to the researchers, is its outdated mainframe computer system. Upgrades to a cloud-based system are underway, which would make it easier for drivers to complete transactions online rather than in an office. NCDMV Commissioner Wayne Goodwin told a legislative committee earlier this year that the state is partnering with Arizona, which went through a similar modernization process. The entire project could take four to five years to complete.
Many government agencies, including NCDMV, have struggled to retain and hire employees since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. In a series of social media posts, Goodwin said lawmakers in the General Assembly have refused his requests to add new positions. North Carolina has added three million residents in the past two decades, but he argues staffing hasn’t kept pace. The report recommends lawmakers grant the agency more flexibility to hire temporary workers and prioritize open positions at NCDMV offices with the highest wait times.
In response to the report, NCDMV commissioner Wayne Goodwin issued this statement to WUNC: "I’d like to thank the team from ITRE and UNC Greensboro for their work. Our team is poring over the report and looks forward to discussing its recommendations with our partners at the legislature."
