Addition of staff, earlier opening hours, weekend services: in the midst of a crisis, the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) will deploy a series of solutions on Monday to reduce long queues in several its branches.
“I asked that Quebecers no longer wait outside, and that the service be of quality everywhere,” Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault said on Twitter on Sunday.
A total of 150 additional employees will be gradually assigned to branches experiencing high traffic. Depending on the number of visitors, the opening hours will be brought forward in the morning and extended at the end of the day. Services will also be offered by appointment on weekends.
The daily reception capacity of each service center will also be posted Monday on the SAAQ website. Self-service digital kiosks will be added directly in branches.
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, THE PRESS
“What we have seen recently in SAAQ branches is unacceptable. […] The management is also aware that the situation no longer holds. No one should have to wait hours in line for regularly scheduled services. I hope that with the measures put in place tomorrow, the situation will be resolved,” explained the minister on Sunday, in a statement sent to The Press.
At the SAAQ, spokesperson and publicist Geneviève Côté spoke on Sunday of measures that will give a “big boost” to the organization. “It’s part of a larger action plan. We will be able to take stock of the situation this week, but as of tomorrow, the measures will be put in place in different service centers, ”she assured.
The organization intends to apply the measures as a priority in the service centers where the traffic rates have been the highest in the last few days, particularly in the Montreal region. In fact, many, many customers in the city expressed their dissatisfaction with the service provided at several SAAQ service outlets. In certain sectors, imposing queues were observed: it was often necessary to wait there for more than two hours.
“We continue to invite our customers to make an appointment, or to postpone their operations with us if they are not urgent”, nevertheless persists Mme Side on this.
Important deadlines
To replace a lost, stolen or damaged licence, The Press noted on Sunday that no appointment at a service point is available before April 25 in Montreal. In Montérégie, the first available appointment is April 11. In Laval, no appointments are available in the next three months.
The situation is similar across Quebec. In the Capitale-Nationale, the first meeting available is April 20, in Saguenay, on April 12, and in Thetford-Mines, on April 5. Rouyn-Noranda stands out with appointments available as of March 8.
On the website, we can read that new tracks are added the first week of each month. “If the schedule is full, come back later to check if any slots have become available,” it says.
It must be said that the transition to the SAAQclic platform has been hampered for several weeks, and forces customers to line up at the various points of service.
Visibly irritated, Prime Minister François Legault also declared on Friday that he was “not at all satisfied with what is happening at the SAAQ”. “The current situation is unacceptable and I asked that it be corrected quickly,” Mr. Legault had launched.
Launched on February 20, the SAAQ’s digital platform should allow customers to carry out most transactions remotely and avoid trips to service points. The objective was to be more efficient and facilitate the renewal of the driving license, the payment of the registration or the making of an appointment for a driving test, for example.
In addition, this file represents a first major test for Quebec, because the new SAAQ platform integrates Government Authentication Service (SAG), which will eventually replace clicSÉQUR. However, the Legault government plans to integrate many other ministerial bodies into the SAG in 2023.
Authenticate more easily
To facilitate the creation of an online SAAQclic account, it will now be possible to obtain your notice of assessment number by telephone rather than by mail, indicates the company. This number can also be obtained by contacting Revenu Québec.
As of Monday, March 13, in seven branches, only two pieces of identification instead of four, namely the health insurance card and the driver’s license, will be required for authentication. Customers having difficulty authenticating can call Services Québec at 1 877 644-4545.
Due to technical problems reported by dealers, 15 additional employees will also answer calls to provide support. An e-mail box will also be dedicated to reporting difficulties encountered and a web page will report on technical problems that have been resolved or are being analyzed.
Since the deployment of the new platform, more than 430,000 transactions have taken place at points of service. The SAAQ claims that 50% of these transactions could have been done online.
With The Canadian Press