The Privatization of Roads and Highways - Ludwig von Mises Institute

9
The Motor Vehicle Bureau
Newly arrived in New Orleans from Arkansas, one of the
first things I did after settling in was to attempt to register
my automobile and get a Louisiana license plate (I
can’t pass for a native with an out of town vehicle).
I say “attempt” advisedly, because this quest, as it turned out,
was quite a struggle.
On my first try, I went out to the Louisiana Motor Vehicle
Bureau in Kenner, a twenty-five minute trip from my university.
I saw a line of about thirty-five people, and took my place at the
end of it. After twenty minutes, only two people had been
served. This implied a wait of 330 minutes, or five and a half
hours. Not having brought any work to do with me, I scurried
back to my office, tail between my legs.
The next day I arrived with sandwiches and a book to read.
There were only twenty people ahead of me. Hot diggity, I
thought, this would take “only” 200 minutes at yesterday’s pace,
or a little over three hours.
Happily, we were queued up in “snake” formation, instead of
the more usual system—popular for public sector “services”—of
a group of people waiting, separately, for each clerk. At least I
didn’t have to worry about being at the slowest moving wicket.
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