Area lawmakers are calling on Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack to reopen Registry of Motor Vehicles offices in Greenfield and Easthampton and offer dedicated service hours to older drivers across the region.
Special hours for those 74 and older to renew their licenses in person were recently added at the RMV Service Center in Springfield, but that’s not enough for some members of the western Massachusetts delegation.
“This is just another example of something that is fundamentally unfair to the western part of the state,” said Sen. John Velis, D-Westfield.
In Massachusetts, those 75 and older must renew their driver’s licenses in person. Initially, when the RMV announced on Sept. 1 dedicated service hours for those 75 and older renewing their licenses in person, no western Massachusetts locations were included. The RMV locations included in that initial announcement were Danvers, Leominster, New Bedford, South Yarmouth and Watertown, with Watertown offering the hours starting on Sept. 2 and the other locations offering the hours starting on Sept. 9.
On Wednesday, the Springfield RMV debuted a half-day of dedicated service hours.
In response to the announcement, 13 legislators, including Velis, signed a letter to Pollack. “We are writing today to request that you reopen the RMV locations in Greenfield and Easthampton and provide dedicated service hours for customers who are 75 years of age or older at three sites in western Massachusetts: one in Berkshire County, one in Franklin County and one in Hampshire County,” reads part of the letter.
Others signatories included Rep. Natalie Blais, D-Sunderland, Rep. Dan Carey, D-Easthampton, Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa, D-Northampton, and Sen. Jo Comerford, D-Northampton.