ROBOTIC LICENCE RENEWAL -- CALIFORNIA STARS AGAIN 

Recently I had my driver's licence renewed. The procedure was painless. The wait for the actual laminated license wasn't. Why does it have to take six to eight weeks to receive your official licence from Victoria? It doesn't. In California it's delivered upon application.

Remember those days, long ago, way back in 1987, when everyone waited in long line-ups to deposit or receive funds at a bank? Today, everyone goes to the robotic teller, the ATM. In California, some non-bureaucrat wondered why no one had used this technology for renewing a driver's license, it is now possible. The California, Department of Motor Vehicles was most helpful. They quickly mailed me lots of information along with the picture alongside this column. Why is California providing efficient service when British Columbia is not? Because DMV officials there acknowledge that "technology is critical to a company's success". They "... are recognizing technology's potential in stretching the taxpayer dollar more efficiently". We should be so lucky.

California is slightly larger in population and economic stature than Canada. Their DMV conducts 58 million transactions annually. Along with NCR Corp., the world leader in ATM manufacture and Anderson Consulting and Technovision, who provided the "user-friendly" nonbureaucratic application software, the California DMV has recently initiated pilot projects to test this concept in Glendale, San Mateo and Folsom.

Patterned after automated teller machines, the new system allows customers to perform more of the renewal process thus reducing processing time, improving the quality of testing and providing assistance to both English-and non-English speaking users.

The California licence renewal machines can also score tests and collect fees via Visa or Mastercard. The machines feature userfriendly touch screen technology, high-quality graphics and video displays. Getting a driver's licence becomes FUN at a government office and not a drag. Imagine, FUN at a government office!

Through a new precedent-setting state law that permits public and private enterprises to team up in providing solutions to complex information management problems, the California DMV is the first state agency to implement advanced computer technology for consumer use. And, as we all know, if it starts in California .... "This is a good example of how government can harness the power of advances in technology to improve efficiency, streamline operations and provide service to our customers," said DMV Director Frank Zolin. The project will also serve as a prototype for other state agencies that may benefit from similar technological advances.

According to visionary Zolin, "I can envision the day when the public will be able to access any number of government services -- from voter registration to welfare eligibility to obtaining fishing and hunting licenses -- through a single self-service system in a local shopping center, and access to governmental services could truly become a one-stop shopping experience." California issues more than 6.5 million driver's licences annually and with about one million people being added to the population each year, they were forced to "get with it". Hello Victoria, are you there?

More information: Gina McGuiness, Communications Manager, DMV, 2415 First Ave., Sacramento, California 95818. Phone: 916/732-7673. NCR: Dave Sucash, Manager, USG Public Relations, NCR Corporation, 1334 South Patterson Blvd., Dayton, Ohio 45479.

If you would like to see this system installed in British Columbia, phone the Motor Vehicle Branch at 660-2397 in Vancouver. The Minister in charge of Motor Vehicles is: Ivan Messmer. His phone number in Victoria is: 1-387-1683.

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