RMV officials travel to Saugus to highlight partnership with AAA

SAUGUS – On a Saturday morning, Jim Prior of Stoneham walked into an office building in a strip mall, filled out a short form and renewed his license. The entire process took him less than 10 minutes, and he had time to enjoy complimentary coffee before he headed onto his next errand of the day.Prior wasn’t at a state Registry of Motor Vehicles office – those are all closed Saturdays. He is one of thousands of people who can now renew their licenses at AAA in Saugus and five other AAA offices in Massachusetts that offer basic license renewal and car registration services for the RMV.View what registry services AAA offers.”It was great,” Prior said. ” I was second in line; I waited three or four minutes.”The partnership between the state agency, which is notorious for long waits and inflexible hours, and the private travel, insurance and auto company is one of several ways the RMV is trying to serve its customers better, said Rachel Kaprielian, the state’s registrar.”It’s always been important to have the process as painless as possible,” she said of using the RMV.Kaprielian and regional AAA officials dropped by the Saugus AAA branch on Broadway on Saturday morning to highlight what they say is a successful partnership.AAA offices in Saugus, Boston, Worcester, Framingham, West Springfield and South Dennis offer simple license renewals and car registrations for AAA members. So far, the offices have processed 60,000 drivers licenses and 20,000 car registrations in Massachusetts, said Mark Shaw, Southern New England AAA’s president and CEO.”The registration experience should be a reasonably pleasant one,” he said.Kaprielian said she was interested in working with AAA after watching the program grow with state agencies in Rhode Island and Connecticut, which have been in place for at least 15 years. In Rhode Island, AAA processes 60 percent of all license renewals.”I’m not above copy-catting,” she said.To alleviate wait time and lines at its branches, Kaprielian said the agency is trying to give drivers as many options as possible to access its services. The RMV actively encourages people to renew their licenses online and avoid coming to a branch on a Monday, Friday or end of the month.”Taking people out of the branches is key to better service,” she said.But many of AAA’s members 65 or older are less likely to use the internet, Shaw said. That’s where AAA can fill in the gap, especially because half of all Massachusetts drivers are AAA members, he said.Shaw said he hopes the other 50 percent of state drivers can learn about his company through the registry services AAA provides.”A lot of people think we’re just road services, and we’re more than just road services,” he said.The six AAA branches that partner with RMV offer license and registration renewal services weekdays 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and Saturdays 9 a.m.-1 p.m.The Boston location is closed Saturday.For more information about AAA Southern New England, visit http://www.southernnewengland.aaa.com.Amber Parcher can be reached at [email protected].