People waited patiently in maroon chairs for their names to be called during the DMV mobile unit’s monthly visit, held Wednesday in room 104 of the Illini Union.

After Champaign’s DMV location closed in November 2014, the mobile DMV is now the only option in town. As a result, students and Champaign-Urbana residents must resort to driving to either the Rantoul or Monticello DMVs, the latter being the closest and still a 30-minute drive, or waiting a month until the mobile DMV rolls back into town.

This temporary solution has increased the amount of people on campus traveling to the Illini Union.

Caterina D’Assergio, an exchange student getting her master’s degree in LAS, said she wasn’t aware that the mobile unit was a temporary solution for the citizens of Champaign, but she had noticed there were no other DMVs close to campus.

“I checked how to get (a state ID) online, and the other options were far,” D’Assergio said. “Once a month is probably too low for the DMV to come here, and I think the time they are here should increase.”

Rachel Farrer, assistant press secretary for the Illinois Secretary of State, said they have seen an increase in the number of people using the office’s mobile unit at the University. Because of this, she said the University will most likely receive the most visits out of the other colleges in Illinois.

“We are committed to providing the people of Champaign DMV services,” Farrer said. “We look forward to continuing our partnership with the University.”

Angela Smith, manager in the English department’s Undergraduate Advising Office, was also unhappy about the closing of the permanent Champaign DMV. The facility closed on Nov. 9 due to air quality concerns.

Smith felt the mobile DMV was well-organized and more convenient than driving to Rantoul.

“It’s great that it is right on the Quad,” Smith said. “But I feel that they need to disinfect the machines that test your vision. They smell like bad breath.”

Despite Smith’s complaint about a machine’s odor and cleanliness, Lowa Mwilambwe, director of the Illini Union, said they try to make accommodations to help students, faculty and staff.

Wednesday, the Illini Union changed the room that the mobile DMV is usually held to prepare for the amount of people expected to show up.

“As a conference facility as well, we wanted to put people in their best environment,” Mwilambwe said. “Some people last time were waiting in the hallways, and we didn’t feel that was conducive to business.”

Mwilambwe attributes this traffic to the local DMV being closed down, but he wants to continue helping the campus in any way by accommodating their needs. Farrer said the process of finding a permanent location for the DMV is going well, with only two places still in the running. However, she could not say when the DMV will have a permanent home in town.

[email protected]