DATE: Wednesday, April 2, 1997              TAG: 9704020475

SECTION: BUSINESS                PAGE: D1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY DEBBIE MESSINA, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   44 lines

DMV BUYS $20 MILLION COMPUTER SYSTEM TO BOOST ITS SPEED, REPUTATION

Renewing a driver's license or registering a car at a Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles office will be speedier when a new $20-million computer system comes on line late next year.

On Tuesday, the state DMV signed a seven-year contract with Amdahl Corp. of Sunnyvale, Calif., to upgrade its 15-year-old computer network.

The new system will be able to process transactions 25 percent faster than the current system, said Jeanne Chenault, DMV spokeswoman.

``The DMV (serves nearly) every resident of the commonwealth at some time, and we want to make all experiences as quick, efficient and friendly as possible,'' said Commissioner Richard D. Holcomb.

Underscoring the need for faster service is the increase in registered vehicles in Virginia. The number of cars on the road has risen about 25 percent over the last 10 years. Meanwhile, DMV offices across the state average 37,000 walk-in transactions a day. That does not include mailed or telephoned requests.

The department has long been saddled with a reputation for slow and inefficient service. In the past year, DMV has implemented a number of customer-friendly practices to reduce lines.

The most radical is a computerized queuing-management system that moves customers more quickly and allows them to sit in a lobby while waiting their turn.

Other changes: license plate renewal by telephone with a credit card; mobile DMV offices that visit large employment sites as well as colleges; machines that quickly grade driving tests; and a web site with service information.

Amdahl computers will be installed at 81 DMV sites by fall 1998. Support, maintenance and training will continue through the seven-year contract.

Eventually, DMV will be able to bar code driver's licenses and registrations for even quicker service.

While the DMV's current computer system is up and running 97 percent of the time, ``it's not sufficient to sustain us,'' Chenault said.

``We feel like now is the time to launch the technology improvements before we have any troubles,'' Chenault said.

The DMV gets no money from the state's general fund. Instead, it retains about 10 percent of the $1.2 billion in revenue it generates each year.

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