DMV Furloughs Cause Big Increase In Wait Times

(Los Angeles, CA) -- The furlough days imposed on Department of Motor Vehicle workers has seriously degraded the quality of the agency's service. A new report out says the average wait time standing in line at DMV offices across the state has jumped from 27 minutes to 45 minutes. The report by the California Senate Office of Oversight and Outcomes also says that there is a growing backlog in the processing of license applications. The DMV's 168 field offices began closing two Fridays a month in February with a third furlough day added in July. The furloughs reduce the pay of about 84 hundred DMV workers. The furloughs have undone significant progress achieved under Governor Schwarzenegger. By filling 400 vacant positions in 2004, average wait times at 91 of the larges DMV offices was reduced from almost an hour to less than 30 minutes.