Arizona Motor Vehicle Division

Before the coronavirus pandemic, the Arizona Motor Vehicle Division would help 14,000 people each day. By October, only 5,000 people visit its Arizona offices.

 Photo courtesy of ADOT

The Arizona Department of Transportation is allowing more office visits to be scheduled online in hopes of providing convenience for Motor Vehicle Division customers during the pandemic.

Department officials said it’s a move to save customers’ time when trying to complete appointments for Travel IDs, license renewals, instruction permits, vehicle and motorcycle road tests, according to an ADOT news release.

The pandemic had forced ADOT to limit its customers to those seeking first-time licenses or registrations.

The new method could take a load off of the MVD’s customer service hotline, which was created to handle appointments after capacity limits were placed on state offices.

Customers were experiencing 30-minute delays before reaching one of the approximately 200 customer service representatives, an ADOT official told the Arizona Daily Star in August.

“The phone line, MVD hotline, that volume is still heavy. But we went to being able to answer about 5,000 calls per day in July, to about 13,000 a day in August and we’ve maintained that through September, and into October,” said Doug Pacey, assistant communication director for customer outreach for ADOT.

“We’re happy to expand the online scheduling options that people can take advantage of,” Pacey said. “We think people will enjoy having the convenience to schedule their own appointments online, they won’t have to call in to schedule the appointments. They can do it on their computer or browser on their phone.”

Customers can schedule those appointments by logging into azmvdnow.gov, use the “My Account” tab, then locate the “Schedule an Appointment” tab.

As the department finds ways to provide convenient avenues to complete customers’ tasks, officials are also trying to relieve service demands by opening availability in its offices.

It was once common for MVD employees to help 14,000 people each day, but only about 5,000 people make it into Arizona offices today.

“We are slowly increasing the number of in office appointment slots that are available, if it’s something that we can do. What works in a rural area may not work in an urban area,” Pacey said. “It’s basically on an office-by-office basis. We want to serve as many people as we can safely, keeping our MVD folks and the public safe.”

Meanwhile, ADOT continues to push its customers to give its online platform a shot. Officials say two-thirds of MVD transactions can be completed.

“I saw earlier this week 1.3 million people have activated their accounts already since April at azmvdnow.gov,” Pacey said. “You can go online and do it at your own convenience, whenever you want, wherever you want. It’s a lot better than having to call on the phone or try to make an appointment.”

An important piece to MVD services, mailing customers’ documents, does remain consistent, according to Pacey.

“No one should be experiencing any delays in getting their documents or their credentials mailed to them after they’ve either gone online or in the office and completed those transactions. There’s no backups on the printing end,” Pacey said.

Down the Road

I-10 ramp in Marana to close: The westbound Interstate 10 exit ramp at Avra Valley Road, milepost 242, will close on Monday and Tuesday for guardrail repairs.

Crews will work from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. each day.

Motorists can use the Twin Peaks or Tangerine roads exits as alternate routes.

Photo gallery: Tucson streets through the years:

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Contact Star reporter Shaq Davis at 573-4218 or sdavis@tucson.com

On Twitter: @ShaqDavis1