Watertown's RMV Branch May be on the Cutting Block

Written by Charlie Breitrose, Mary MacDonald and Bret Silverberg

Watertown’s Registry of Motor Vehicles branch may shut down, requiring residents to go into Boston, or out to Burlington or Framingham to be served by a real person.

The branch at the Watertown Mall is just one of dozens on the cutting block. The RMV would open 12 regional centers across the state to replace the current branches. A new document outlining potential regionalization and other proposals was presented to the department's board of directors last week.

"[The plan is a] concept for the future of the RMV including improving technology, developing new third party partnerships and exploring a move toward branch regionalization in order to better serve the customer. Branch closures or new openings are not imminent," said DOT spokesperson Sara Lavoie on Monday. "This is a concept that is years away from reality. It was presented to the Board of Directors on Wednesday (July 17) and it was well received and further analysis will be done on the regionalization concept."

The consolidation, conceptual at this point, is designed to increase efficiency and improve customer service, including wait times. As part of the modernization plan, the RMV would phase out some in-person functions, including registration renewals.

Watertown’s closest centers would be on Washington Street in Boston’s Chinatown, in Burlington or Framingham. Regional centers would be opened in Barnstable, New Bedford, Raynham, Braintree, Haverhill, Lowell, Worcester, Leominster, Springfield and Pittsfield, according to a report by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation called "Modernizing the Registry of Motor Vehicles."
"These locations are only suggestions, but we believe that they are ideal," the report states. "All are positioned near major metropolitan areas, along key highways, and within RTA or MBTA service areas. They are also distributed evenly enough to place most Massachusetts' residents within 15-20 miles of an RMV branch."

According to the report, customer representatives make up more than half the staff of the RMV, and Watertown has the second most of any of the branches after the Boston office.

Wait time at the Watertown branch is among the longest, with the average wait time about half an hour, according to the report.