CLARION – Calling it a disservice to rural people, point out Rep. Donna Oberlander (R-Clarion) reported this week that she is co-sponsoring legislation that would force PennDOT to resume complete providers at its vacation sites throughout the condition, like those in Clarion and West Kittanning.
Considering that the begin of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 20 travel sites have not only reduced hrs but eradicated numerous providers. At present, the Clarion and West Kittanning locations are between the vacation internet sites that are only processing pictures for driver’s licenses. Inhabitants wishing to take driving checks or perform other driver or car solutions should journey to Punxsutawney or Butler.
“I obtain it amazingly irritating that rural residents in need of a variety of driver and car or truck PennDOT services, this kind of as getting a driving take a look at, ought to push more than an hour, and in several circumstances, have required to get time off of work or faculty,” Oberlander stated. “This is specially complicated for inhabitants who may not have web accessibility or will need some thing processed swiftly.”
Oberlander also claimed that PennDOT refuses to release a timeline of when the complete array of expert services may resume at the travel web sites. These web pages are served by PennDOT team who travel to the places the moment or two times a week to give certain kinds of providers, these kinds of as driving tests or Authentic ID.
“This administration carries on to dismiss the requires of rural residents and sets up roadblocks for them seeking to accessibility important government solutions,” Oberlander extra. “That’s why my colleagues and I felt it was time to power their hand by introducing laws that would need PennDOT to open up these internet sites again up for all services.”
Underneath the proposal, PennDOT would be necessary to reopen the web pages to the operational level that these web-sites had been at prior to the pandemic within just two weeks of enactment. The invoice is predicted to be launched in the coming days.