Community Corner

New Hours For Motor Vehicle Commission

With Springfield's MVC now open on Mondays, officials hope for shorter lines and faster service.

Are the snaking lines outside of Springfield’s Motor Vehicle Commission branch soon to be a thing of the past?

New Jersey’s Motor Vehicle Commission has again changed the hours of its locations. Their offices, including the Springfield branch at 34 Center Street, are now again open on Mondays, with extended late hours on Tuesdays. 

Last July, Springfield’s MVC branch’s hours were changed to a Tuesday through Saturday schedule with late hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays as part of state government austerity measures. 

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“We saved $4 million by tightening up our schedule,” MVC spokesman Mike Horan said.

MVC employees objected to the change in hours, saying the changes meant parents working at Commission branches had to scramble to find childcare to cover the new hours.

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The schedule shift and the closing of the branch in Elizabeth drew long lines to Springfield’s MVC location. 

“We had people showing up on Mondays months into the change,” Horan said. He said the MVC monitored how busy the locations were, and saw that certain days were attracting more people than others. “Tuesdays became the new Mondays. And on Thursdays, after five, it dropped dramatically.”

Horan said employees did not object to the new schedule change, and that the new configuration will not cost the MVC any more money.

Horan noted that MVC employees are working on a computer system with a “1980s green screen. He said an upcoming implementation of a new MVC computer system would speed transactions and lessen crowds at all branches. The new $50 million system, slated for a late 2012 launch, will allow DMV customers to perform a number of functions online from home, including vehicle registration and driver’s license renewals.

In a press release, Motor Vehicle Commission Chairman Raymond Martinez said the online renewals will allow over 1 million customers to “skip the trip” to the MVC every year.

The new MVC schedule is below: 

Monday 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday
8:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Thursday 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m

Saturday 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

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