KENNEWICK, Wash. - Extra long lines at the Department of Licensing may be a thing of the past. Lawmakers decided to take testing services off the menu at the DOL.
At the Kennewick office off of Clearwater Avenue the line used to wrap around the building sometimes.
"It's a real shock to walk in and not see any lines," said Donnie Kay Truman.
Truman and her husband just moved back to the Tri-Cities. They were at the Kennewick office getting their new Washington licenses and she said she was thrilled to see the state has made some changes to shorten up wait times.
"Well you have to schedule your whole day around it. It's not something you can do on your lunch hour or take an hour in the morning. It's something you have to schedule half a day probably," Truman said.
Testing services were cut from DOL offices around the state on December 1st. Now to get your license you have to go through a private company.
Parkside Driving School serves both the Tri-Cities and Yakima. They've opened an additional office and expanded another. They've also extended their hours from weekends and evenings to all day, six days a week.
"People are much more at ease taking the test which means they're much more likely to succeed at the test and not have to take it multiple times," said Director of Operations Lynn Rogers.
It does cost a little more to get a license through private companies. They have their own fees and the DOL still has their fees associated with it, as well.
"It has gotten a little bit more expensive to obtain a license but at the same time, the wait time has gone down and the ease of going through the process has gotten a little bit better," Rogers said.
Rogers said Parkside Driving School used to primarily serve teenagers who were getting their first license. Now the expect the majority of their business, about 70%, to be adults.
