FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                         August 2, 2005

Release No. M-52

CITY INTRODUCES MORE ONLINE SERVICES

            The more time spent on-line, the less time spent in-line.  That's the theme of the City and County of Honolulu's latest online services unveiled today at Honolulu Hale by Mayor Mufi Hannemann.

            Hannemann said, "We're continuing to roll-out new ways of doing business, particularly ways to adopt technology to better serve the public.  Where once people had to stand in line at a Satellite City Hall, they'll now be able to do their transactions and inquiries over the Internet.  That not only saves them time, but reduces the waiting time for in-person service and enables our City employees to better meet ever-increasing demands.  The more time people spend on-line, the less time they need to spend in-line."

            The following services are now available, or soon will be, at the City's website (www.honolulu.gov):

Motor Vehicle Fee Inquiry http://www3.honolulu.gov/mvrfeeinq/

            This feature will allow anyone to determine the cost for the majority of motor vehicle registration transactions processed by the City' Motor Vehicle Branch, based on responses to questions posed by the program.  It will reduce manual calculation errors and eliminate the need for the publication of weight tax tables to calculate the amount of taxes and fees due.  If used by motor vehicle dealers, this program can reduce the number of dealer-submitted transactions that are rejected due to calculation errors.

Motor Vehicle Title Inquiry http://www4.honolulu.gov/mvrtitleinq/

            The public will be able to determine the registration status and find lien-holder information and other motor vehicle registration data for any motor vehicle, provided the person making the inquiry inputs the last four digits of the vehicle identification number and the vehicle's license plate number.  The City receives an average of 12,317 of these inquiries a month.

Special (Vanity) License Plate Order http://www4.honolulu.gov/specialplates/

            Car owners wanting to know if "MUFI" is available for a special (vanity) license plate can now inquire online, then place an order immediately.

Motor Vehicle Registration Renewal https://www4.honolulu.gov/mvrreg/

            This program allows registered owners of motor vehicles to renew their vehicle registrations online if the motor vehicle computer records show a current safety inspection and there are no special documents required to be submitted with the renewal.  Currently, about four percent of renewals (20,247 of the 514,425 motor vehicle renewals) each year are processed via the Internet.

# # #

Contact:

               Salvatore Lanzilotti,  Customer Services Department director,  523-4834