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By Doug Nick
Assistant Communications Director for Customer Outreach
Arizona Department of Transportation
Arizona Department of Transportation
For several months there’s been a lot of conversation in the Tri-Community area about what’s going to happen with the Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division San Manuel office.
That’s why MVD representatives recently visited to explain customer service options available for the entire state.
It may come as a surprise, but more than half of those options are things you can do without going to an MVD office at all. You can renew your vehicle registration, get a duplicate driver license, order a specialty license plate, register to vote, get a plate refund – and much more – either by phone, U.S. mail or online.
This means more people can do transactions from the comfort of their home and on their schedule.
Partly because more people are doing their MVD business this way, wait times have gone down significantly in many of our busiest offices. It’s a major improvement and it reflects how MVD can best meet customer expectations.
The San Manuel office is part of that discussion, which is what has spurred so much recent talk among you and your neighbors.
The customer demand here is simply not enough to justify full-time operations. This means the difficult decision has been made to reduce office hours from five days a week to two, with the recommendation for eventual closure.
The week ending Dec. 2 will be the last full week of operation. Beginning on Wednesday, Dec. 7, this location will be open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays only.
With change comes opportunity. MVD authorizes private-sector businesses to offer many of the services available at MVD offices. We can’t guarantee that any will come to the Tri-Community area, but we’ve already had inquiries from people exploring that option.
Should closure eventually occur, MVD would explore locations for a kiosk to provide the same services available by mail, phone or online at no extra cost. It would be placed at a government facility in this region.
MVD takes these decisions seriously, and we recognize there is a significant impact for this community. But we’re committed to being transparent with our customers and doing everything we can to get people out of line and safely on the road.
There are news or informational items frequently written by staff or submitted to the Copper Basin News, San Manuel Miner, Superior Sun, Pinal Nugget or Oracle Towne Crier for inclusion in our print or digital products. These items are not credited with an author.
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