No-shows add to license renewal holdups

Add no-shows who don’t cancel their appointments to the list of reasons it takes so long to renew driver’s licenses on Oahu.

Between 25 to 30 percent of those who book appointments, or roughly 3,250 to 3,900 people a month, don’t show up, Customer Services Director Sheri Kajiwara told the Honolulu City Council’s Parks, Community and Customer Services Committee at a recent meeting.

“That means people are making these appointments, taking these slots and not bothering to come in,” she said. “Of course we do take them as walk-ins, but there is a cost to no-shows.”

To discourage no-shows, her department is considering requiring those who sign up for an appointment to put down a deposit fee, possibly $6, she said.

“We’re looking at the pros and cons of that right now,” she said, adding that such a policy would require those making appointments to possess credit cards to put down a deposit online.

But she said she wants to try other alternatives first, such as asking customers at the end of transactions whether they need to cancel scheduled appointments and sending them text reminders to cancel appointments they no longer need.

The appointment system, rolled out in April, allows for up to 13,000 people a month to schedule license renewal appointments but that still isn’t enough to meet the demand, especially in locations where it’s not possible to add more licensing clerks, Kajiwara said.

Up to half of all driver’s license renewals are now done through appointments instead of walk-ins.

Kajiwara told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser she suspects some people are booking multiple appointments, choosing the one that best suits their schedule, then forgetting or not bothering to cancel the others.

Others may be booking an appointment a month in advance, then deciding to show up as walk-in on an earlier date but neglecting to cancel their appointment, possibly because they don’t know how to cancel, she said.

While licensing clerks can, and do, move on to the next customer in line, no-shows eat up valuable time, Kajiwara said. In response to complaints that clerks weren’t allowing sufficient time for customers to get to the window — from their seats, outside or the restroom — she pointed out that the policy is to allow two minutes for a person to appear at the window, followed by a second call and an additional two minutes. Only then do clerks move on to the next customer.

On one recent Saturday, there were 109 missed appointments. Given the process, she said this could add up to 11 hours of lost service time on one day alone.

Council members, frustrated by an ever-growing number of constituent complaints about long lines, have introduced two resolutions and are urging Mayor Kirk Caldwell to take whatever steps possible to alleviate the problem.

>> Resolution 18-150, introduced by Councilman Brandon Elefante, calls on Kajiwara’s department to fill existing staff vacancies, offer additional driver’s license appointments and provide more locations for state identification services.

>> Resolution 18-174, introduced by Councilman Trevor Ozawa, urges the administration to do something about long lines and address “other frustrations” faced by Oahu residents seeking to renew their driver’s licenses at satellite city halls.

Ozawa said people at the Hawaii Kai Satellite City Hall are in line as early as 4:45 a.m. to ensure they get their licenses renewed the same day. Many are 72 and older, which means they must renew every two years under state law, he said. “They find it to be very stressful.”

A state law that took effect in 2010 allowed the bulk of Hawaii motorists to move from driver’s licenses that were valid for six years to driver’s licenses that were valid for eight years. As a result, the number of licenses anticipated to expire in summer of 2018 spiked to 12,000 a month, compared with 2017’s estimated 2,000 a month.

Kajiwara said her department’s been doing what it can given these circumstances, including opening driver’s license renewal locations on Saturdays and making more non- licensing services available online.

To find out more about the steps the city has taken to handle the influx in driver’s license renewals, go to the Power Point presentation given to the Council committee at this Internet address: bit.ly/2PXYGgh.

For more about driver’s license rules on Oahu, go to: honolulu.gov.

In related news, Kajiwara said the city’s busy Ala Moana Center Satellite City Hall will need to relocate in the coming months, likely to the former American Savings Bank location on the street level makai side of the mall near Assagio’s. Its current location is near the Barnes and Noble store on the street level mauka side of the mall.