WEST DEPTFORD, NJ — The Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) office in West Deptford is no longer taking new customers after visitors were greeted with long lines and wait hours on Tuesday, police announced.
"They have reached their capacity," West Deptford police said in a statement. "Please visit the NJ MVC website for additional information. Thank you to everyone who was at facility today for your patience."
It was the first day MVC offices across the state were open in more than four months, and the story was the same everywhere. Customers were greeted with were mile-long lines, three-hour waiting times and overall chaos and confusion, according to witnesses.
"I came to West Deptford at 6:30 and still haven't gotten my license," one person wrote on Twitter Tuesday morning.
"This is absurd," another wrote. "You guys were terribly slow at West Deptford. I waited in line for 5 hours, and they said wait for a text. They also said they doubt we will get a text by today. Why even go in the first place if we didn't know we weren't going to get our stuff today?"
NJ.com reports that Passaic County sheriff officers closed the Oakland agency before 9 a.m. John Ellis told the publication that he was waiting in line in Oakland, but went to Wayne after the closure was announced.
Northjersey.com reports long lines in Lodi as well, with lines wrapping around the building three times. There, the first person in line arrived before midnight on Monday.
However, the Lodi location was closed before 8 a.m. due to "overwhelming capacity," according to the publication.
"Not sure how the line in Wayne is but here in West Deptford it's beyond ridiculous," another wrote. "You can renew by mail, my mom did that. Better than making the trip if you can."
"There are hundreds of people at every location," one person wrote, while another said they left because it was so crowded.
"As we reopen today, MVC agencies are experiencing extraordinarily high customer volumes," NJMVC Chief Administrator Sue Fulton said. "In anticipation of long lines due to social distancing restrictions, Agency management personnel were deployed to our busiest agencies, beginning at 6 a.m., two hours before our start time. Additionally, all of our senior staff operations are deployed to agencies to help process transactions. While we understand the frustration of our customers in this extremely challenging and difficult time, our employees are doing the best they can to keep everyone safe and work as efficiently as possible. Our text notification systems are working as planned, and we remind everyone that expiration dates were extended. We ask everyone to check NJMVC.gov before you go to an agency as some customers are in line for transactions that can be done online."
The state planned for vehicle and licensing centers to open on June 29 along with road tests and inspections, but delayed the opening to Tuesday because of coronavirus concerns. New Jersey's Motor Vehicle Commission has been closed since mid-March in an attempt to help stop the spread of the disease.
Weekly cleanings of the facilities will continue throughout July, meaning MVC centers will be closed on Mondays.
A text notification system was originally planned to alert drivers when it was their turn in line, but the state announced more testing was needed, and the system wasn't ready for the July 7 reopening.
"We intended to rely on our new text notification system to check people in, then allow them to leave the building and go elsewhere," Fulton said. "Unfortunately, this new system requires further testing, so we will not be able to open as fully as we anticipated ... Without the text notification system, the number of people waiting for transactions who will need to be on site will far exceed capacity limitations."
New Jersey Republicans used the morning's MVC chaos as a chance to slam Gov. Phil Murphy.
"This is unacceptable. The department has had more than three months to prepare for this but has failed the people of New Jersey yet again," said Republican Assemblyman Jon Bramnick of Union, who said he visited the Motor Vehicle Commission agency in Springfield Tuesday morning and found hundreds of people waiting in line, with little communication from the front desk.
"This is why people are frustrated with government," said Bramnick. "Total chaos could have been avoided if the MVC at least handed out numbers as people arrived. People cannot tell where the line begins and there is no communication."
Read more: NJ Coronavirus Updates: Here's What You Need To Know
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