OLATHE, Kan. — The Kansas Department of Revenue knows summer is a peak time for drivers looking to get or renew their driver's license.
A new program aims to reduce wait times.
That would be music to the ears of Olathe-native Morris Goodson.
"I came here to get my CDL renewed," Goodson, a bus driver, said.
He was the only person waiting to be seen at trial-based program focused on cutting down wait times at Kansas Department
Goodson went to his local DMV to see a flood of people and started to worry about the wait time.
"That was the first question I asked and before I did anything and it was probably going to be at least somewhere in the neighborhood of two hours or more," Goodson said of his wait time at the local DMV.
A receptionist told Goodson of a new program that, although technically just for teens, was looking to work the kinks out and invited him to participate.
"(The teller) Came back with an address for me and I thought I'm gonna try it. It's better than waiting two plus hours," Goodson said.
Last Summer, Kansas DMVs were full of people every day. People were waiting hours and some were not able to be seen because of the overflow.
"It was frustrating for us and for the customers," David Harper, director of Kansas' Division of Vehicles, said. "But we have a whole different thing going into this summer."
Harper said during the summer, teens are the culprits when it comes to wait times.
That's where they came up with the idea of a DMV dedicated to teens ages 14-18.
"Our numbers go up abut 20 percent compared to the rest of the year, and a lot of that is people out of school," Harper said.
Goodson was the first to try it out and said it saved him hours of waiting.
"Probably no more than 10 or 15 minutes," Goodson said of the process.
If all goes well, the program will open up just at Liberty View Elementary School in Olathe starting next Tuesday.
They will be open every Tuesday and Wednesday in June. Department employees say the locations will accept cash and checks.
More information about the program is available on the DMV's website.
