Middletown AAA Club Branch Sees Traffic Double Since DMV Closure

Business has been booming at the nearby AAA Auto Club office on East Main Road since the Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) Middletown branch office in February.

“We’re seeing our business almost double in the last three weeks, especially in the last two weeks,” said Lloyd Albert, spokesperson for the Rhode Island AAA Southern New England branches. “Looking at our numbers, we have literally doubled what we were doing in December and January. We are up by 100 percent for that one location.”

The branch closed Feb. 11. The state of Rhode Island is continuing to accept proposals from property owners and brokers for potential new sites on Aquidneck Island, while reaching out to property owners directly.

In the week ending March 3, the Middletown AAA office recorded 418 DMV-related transactions. Before the Middletown DMV closed, that location averaged 200 to 220 walk-in DMV customers each week, Albert said. AAA offices throughout Rhode Island are able to provide license renewals and various vehicle registration transactions on behalf of the Rhode Island DMV to members. A complete list of DMV available member services is listed at the Middletown AAA branch website.

There is at no additional surcharge beyond the actual DMV fee for any of the services.

“This is the best thing that ever happened to AAA,” said Jeff Allen, of Newport, a customer and AAA member who walked right up to the counter without any wait on Friday.

Before the local DMV closed, most customers who came into the AAA office usually had no wait in line. Since the Middletown DMV closed, during peak hours the wait typically has been 5 to 10 minutes, Albert said. Staff has adjusted by rescheduling hours to coincide at peak times and giving more staff more hours to work to accommodate the extra business. The hours of operation have remained the same — 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays.

AAA Southern New England has also seen a sudden increase in new memberships. Albert said sales of new memberships signed up through the Middletown branch increased by 27 percent just within the last four weeks.

The Barrington AAA branch has also seen an increase in business during the same reporting period, although not to the extent seen in Middletown, Albert said.

“I think this points to the fact that AAA members and motorists will go to the nearest AAA office for their DMV transactions,” Albert said. “It's also an example of what of one of the most productive public-private partnerships we’ve seen in Rhode Island.”

AAA Southern New England had been offering registration renewal services for several years. It added the license renewal services in 2003, Albert said.

For more information about DMV services at the AAA Auto Club of Southern New England, visit their website.