DMV to offer extended Saturday hours to alleviate wait times

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- It's a place you've probably been before and perhaps would prefer to forget -- the DMV and its seemingly endless lines. But that may change.

California DMVs frequently experience long wait times. On Thursday in San Francisco, people waited all day and the DMV website reported three hour, 40 minute waits in Oakland and Corte Madera and a wait more than four hours long in Walnut Creek.

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In an attempt to improve the experience, 40 DMV offices across the state, including nine in the Bay Area, will open two Saturdays a month from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. starting June 16th.

"There's always a wait, no matter what," said Jo Riobo, who says she waits in line at the San Francisco office once a year and is skeptical extra hours will help. But William Pious says he would gladly wait in line on a Saturday over a week day, "I have to take off work right now to come down here, so I'm losing money to be here."

One woman told ABC7 she was at the San Francisco DMV for seven hours on Thursday and did not want to be identified because she was skipping work to wait in line.

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"I've won the lottery," exclaimed Frederick McCallister, who didn't actually win money, but was that excited to hear his number called at the DMV. "You have the people who work Monday through Friday who don't have time to actually get into the DMV, so Saturdays would offer an opportunity and might actually cut down on the lines during the week."

Others feel the office hours are just one of many problems. Isaac Klotz has a few ideas on how the DMV could improve, "I think bigger facility, more employees, another few offices around the city." And Beverly Lindsay says the field offices need to be more organized. "I'm not sure why they don't have a better way to queue up people to get them in the appropriate area.," she said.

One woman suggested the DMV open mini field offices in malls like she's seen in other states or offer Disneyland-like fast passes, since it can take several weeks or even months to secure an appointment.

The DMV says the specified field offices will open for extended hours on Saturday June 16 and June 23 and then will transition to the first and third Saturday of each month from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. beginning July 2018.

Click here to see the full list of DMV offices offering extended service.

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