The notion of self-service, supermarket-based kiosks where motorists can renew their vehicle registrations were created with the procrastinators in mind.

A car or truck owner on Oahu who’s waited too long to send off their payment and is worried about getting ticketed for a violation bypass the long lines at one of the city’s satellite city halls and instead head to one of the Safeway outlets where the DMV NOW kiosks have been installed, city Customers Services Director Sheri Kajiwara said today.

Once there, a transaction can be completed within minutes and both the vehicle registration card and decal in the vehicle owner’s hands, something that can’t be done instantly online, she said.

“We’re all procrastinators and if you waited too long, and you can’t wait the 10 to 14 days for processing and for it to come in the mail, you find yourself standing in line and waiting for your stickers,” she said.

Those who are past the expiration on their old registrations are able to use the NOW machines to pay their fines and then renew their registrations, another type of transaction that previously could only be done at satellite city halls.

One caveat is that only credit or debit cards are accepted, not cash. The customer must also know either the vehicle registration bar code number or the vehicle’s license plate number.

Since 2000, the city has also offered vehicle owners an online option for renewing vehicle registrations and in 2017, roughly 27 percent of Oahu vehicles were renewed online.

The kiosks, which feature touch-screen monitors much like a bank ATM machine, are being rolled out as part of a one-year pilot program with California-based contractor Intellectual Technology Inc. If successful, the program could be continued and expanded, Mayor Kirk Caldwell said.

The contractor is only being compensated with a $3 per transaction fee, which the city is picking up for

“This is about customer service, and we are in the customer service business,” Caldwell said. “My hope is that you’re going to see lines be reduced (at satellite city halls) and the people that are in lines are the ones who have more complicated, more difficult transactions who need help or assistance.”

The four Oahu Safeways branches where the kiosks have been installed: Kapahulu, Beretania, Waimalu and Kaneohe. Two others are in the works. Safeway stores are open 24 hours a day and the vehicle registration machines will be as well, city officials said.

Intellectual Technology has similar arrangements to install kiosks on Hawaii’s four other counties, said Craig Litchin, Intellectual Technology chief executive.