by Rod Hughes

The Ministry of Transport (MOPT) has is so enthralled with its new spacious La Uruca district office building that it is promising the elimination of intermitable lines and license renewal within 15 minutes. The 850-square-meter building was inaugurated yesterday and is located alongside the Banco Nacional bank branch in that district.
It has a free parking lot for customers and ramps for handicapped access.
All it takes, according to Roy Rojas, head of the Traffic Safety Council, is submission of the medical exam, the taking a photo and the license will be handed over. Of course, one must also have a receipt that they have paid their fees at any Banco Nacional or Banco de Costa Rica branch.
The new streamlined system will, MOPT promises, end the incidious “gavilan” process, where a runner is paid to stand in line for the license seeker or “sold” his place in line. So long was the wait at the old facility on Plaza Viquez that only the young and determined would have the strength to stand for the time required to reach the window. Closed-circuit TV monitors will ensure that they do not return to their old tricks, added MOPT spokesmen.
The old building will close forever. In the middle of last year, the labor inspectors said the structure was dirty, humid and, literally, flea-infested.