Thought experiment: redesigning the DMV

[JordanIB]

Your conditions will produce zero improvement.

It's the people -- both working there and conducting business there. You can design the line flow and building 100 different ways. But you'll still have uncaring, unmotivated morans behind the counter reeling in the gov't bennies.

Same with the post office.

[Schwartzy61]

[ QUOTE ]
Move to Texas, or one of the other states that doesn't have a DMV.

Not an option. They're paying you three billion dollars to improve the DMV not get rid of it. How do you make it work better for everybody? Make them tiny and stick them in malls like in MA? Make them big and stick them in office parks like in Silicon Valley?

[/ QUOTE ]

Donate 99% of the 3 billion dollars to institute a NO DMV policy.

Also VA DMV now conducts a multitude of inane tasks online. Best way to reduce lines...let people do it at home...

[ColdCaller]

[ QUOTE ]
Redisigning the DMV would totally kill my idea for the worst reality TV show ever.

[/ QUOTE ]

Based on the general intelligence of OOT, I am sure it's at least even money to make your idea even better (or worse, depending).

[offTopic]

bison:

Since I've got an unlimited budget, and I'm in CA, I'm sticking a DMV office in one of those big strip malls - the ones that have a Lowe's/Best Buy/Wal-Mart/etc. If that type of expenditure goes above and beyond "unlimited budget", I'll use an abandoned office park adjacent to the mall.

There will be one office in a city for every 150,000 people in the bigger cities. If a city is smaller than that, but they have one of those malls, they get a DMV.

Since I can't transact online, I figure I can still make appointments online, and these people get priority.

There will be a morning and an evening shift. To compensate for this, the offices will only be open Saturday-Tuesday. Office hours are from 10a - 9p. Driving tests will only be scheduled during daylight hours on weekdays.

If you show up without an appointment, and there's a queue, you get a pager, Cheesecake Factory-style. I'll use my unlimited budget to ensure that the customer can visit the other stores in the mall and still be notified.

[vulturesrow]

You cant improve the DMV because its paid for by money that is stolen from you by jackbooted statist thugs OMG!!@!@#!@#!@#$

Bison,
My humble apologies, I couldnt resist. I have to get my digs in where I can.

[Dids]

The biggest issue I found was the lines are bad because everybody is trying to go on times like Saturday morning, when they're not at work. There was nothing flawed in the system that slowed me down beyond that build up of people at 9AM on a Saturday.

I imagine something as simple as being open later in the day might make a big difference.

[ElaineMonster]

If cost is no issue...

I'd provide rooms with comfy chairs, TVs, computers with internet access, a library/bookstore, a children's play room... Also, everyone in line would get a coupon for a free snack at the snack bar/cafe.

Along with their numbers I'd give people an approximate wait time so they can leave and come back closer to that time...

I'd hire more DMV staff members to accomodate the people more quickly, I'd also pay those people well and give them short shifts with lots of breaks so they're more happy about working there and therefor more polite and joyful...

[By-Tor]

Outsource it to India?

[Alobar]

I would create the DMV express

oh wait....

[thing85]

A system that allows you call in advance and receive a line # (as in, your place in line) so that when you get there, you don't have to wait as long. If you don't make it there by the time they call your number, tough luck. But you can ask on the phone how long the wait is (in terms of # of people) to see if you'd be better off coming later. You can still get a number on a walk-in basis, but of course, that's not any different than how it is now.

Less people waiting in the facility for less time = less time wasted to get a stupid photo taken or whatever. Also, like someone else mentioned, add self-photo booths to speed up the process.

Edit: Rereading the above posts, I realize part of this is similar to what Elaine wrote...my idea just adds the ability to get in line from home.

Edit #2: Mother [censored], I need to read the thread more closely next time. offTopic's idea is similar/better.