Colorado’s mobile DMV rolls to the hard-to-reachthedigitalchaps

Radio in hand, Steven Rustemeyer ushers the next person aboard the bus. “Head on up, buddy,” says the helper, stationed in a sunlit parking lot in Englewood, Colorado.

But this bus has no rows of seats, no driver or destination. This is a project of the Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles: a DMV on wheels. It sits parked with an office inside – complete with computer, printer, fingerprint reader, and vision test chart. 

“It’s easier that way,” says Mr. Rustemeyer, who got a new ID from the mobile clinic earlier this year. Homeless for eight years since he aged out of foster care, he says he appreciates not having to pay bus fare to head to the brick-and-mortar office. The bus shows up once a month at a nonprofit whose job readiness program he attends – and where he’s helping out today.

As it issues IDs and licenses to hard-to-reach Coloradans, the DMV2GO program blunts bureaucracy by saving time and travel to traditional sites. Officially launched last year, the mobile program has issued around 11,000 documents as of September, stopping by incarceration sites, homeless shelters, universities, and rural community hubs.

Given how IDs are key to securing housing, work, and other basics, the goal is to ensure equitable access to identity services for all.

Radio in hand, Steven Rustemeyer ushers the next person aboard the bus. “Head on up, buddy,” says the helper, stationed in a sunlit parking lot in Englewood, Colorado.

But this bus has no rows of seats, no driver or destination. This is a project of the Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles – a DMV on wheels. It sits parked with an office inside – complete with computer, printer, fingerprint reader, and vision test chart. 

“It’s easier that way,” says Mr. Rustemeyer, who got a new ID from the mobile clinic earlier this year. Homeless for eight years since he aged out of foster care, he says he appreciates not having to pay bus fare to head to the brick-and-mortar office. The bus shows up once a month at a nonprofit whose job readiness program he attends – and where he’s helping out today. The stop is one of several across the state.

Next in line for a new license is Amber Taylor, with a purple ponytail. Also unhoused, she appreciates the convenience, too. Regular DMVs “give me panic attacks, because there’s so many people,” she says. So the smaller scale “is perfect.”

As it issues IDs and licenses to hard-to-reach Coloradans, the DMV2GO program blunts bureaucracy by saving time and travel to traditional sites. Officially launched last year, the mobile program has issued around 11,000 documents as of September, stopping by incarceration sites, homeless shelters, universities, and rural community hubs. Given how IDs are key to securing housing, work, and other basics, the goal is to ensure equitable access to identity services for all, says Desiree Trostel, the program manager.

It’s important to “meet people where they’re at,” Ms. Trostel says, “regardless of circumstance or location.”

Mobile staff members report more enjoyment on the job, too. Customers on the road are “a lot happier to come and see us,” says Liz Kuhlman, an upbeat licensing technician on the bus.