Motor Vehicle Services in The Palm of Floridians’ Hands

We are entering an incredible time to be a part of government service delivery, whether on a town, city, county or state level. Although the past twelve months have been rife with challenges, there have been some technological bright spots for government agencies. Office closures and disruptions in government operations and revenue collection have accelerated the need to drive government services online — and quickly.

Government leaders are forging strong partnerships with private sector technology companies. Agencies are looking to deliver services as efficiently — and safely — as possible to their constituents but also don’t want to inherit legacy, custom-coded software that lacks the ability to be scaled or enhanced. This growing need for innovative technology makes the Software as a Service (SaaS) business model enticing for government agencies.

SaaS is consistent; despite many agency’s best efforts, government interaction can sometimes be unpredictable for the public. The same task may take one person 15 minutes and another over an hour. SaaS platforms deliver the same experience day-in and day-out for everyone. Whether it’s a township with a population of 1,000 or a state with a population of 10 million, the same innovative technology is available to all. SaaS and private sector tech empower governments to improve their overall operations and provide the same user experience people have come to expect from the Uber’s and Venmo’s of the world.

As an example, consider MyFlorida, is an app that lets Floridians renew their vehicle or vessel digitally – anywhere and anytime.

The State of Florida and the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) partnered with PayIt, a digital government services and payments company, on an innovative, digital reimagining of how constituents interact with local driver license and motor vehicle service centers.

Launched in 2017, MyFlorida allows constituents to search for their vehicles or vessels and renew up to five registrations at once. Typically, this would require several visits to a local service center, submitting each payment individually or mailing multiple checks. These options are not just taxing on the public, but require manual processes by FLHSMV staff members.

With the MyFlorida app, users can also remedy vehicle registration holds, store digital documents, manage receipts and set up due date alerts to keep track of upcoming vehicle or vessel renewals. All of this can be done right from the palm of their hands — with native Apple and Android apps available.

MyFlorida proved to be an incredibly helpful revenue collection vehicle during the onset of COVID-19. With offices closing and constituents minimizing their in-person interactions, MyFlorida was a safe and convenient way for Floridians to conduct their required motor vehicle business.

The FLHSMV saw a 53% increase in app usage and a 153% increase in digital revenue collection during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This blog post is an excerpt from a partner spotlight report, “Government as a Service Why the public sector is turning to SaaS to solve their IT and citizen experience challenges” download the full report here.