Just a smattering of customers visited the Hobart license branch during its final half-day of operation Saturday.
Many didn’t know the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles elected to close the branch at 7744 E. 37th Ave. because the BMV said it didn’t generate enough foot traffic to justify its expense.
“I didn’t know they were closing,” said Samantha Sumrall, of Lake Station. She hoped the branch employees would be able to keep their jobs at another branch.
Rhodesia Wooten, of Gary, said she’ll miss the convenience.
“I’m new to Indiana and live in Miller. This is the closest branch. I just told the clerk I hate see them go,” she said.
BMV Commissioner Joe Hoage announced the Hobart branch closing on Nov. 2.
“It is not an easy decision to close a branch, but with three other locations in close proximity, residents have several other options on where to conduct their business,” he said.
Hoage cited three branches within a 10-mile radius of Hobart including Gary, Merrillville, and Portage.
At a public hearing in October, Hoage pointed to data he said showed a steady decline of patrons, while costs to maintain the bureau, located in a strip mall by a Strack and Van Til Supermarket, was about $350,000.
BMV spokeswoman Melissa Hook said Monday the Hobart staff will be reassigned to other area branches.
Hobart is the ninth branch closed statewide since 2019. More than a dozen other branches have downsized or relocated as consumers opt for online and kiosk transactions.
The BMV kiosks are 24-hour self-service terminals where customers can conduct multiple transactions with a credit card or cash. Hoage said a kiosk for simple transactions such as plate registrations, will be installed in Hobart.
Mayor Brian Snedecor said Friday an upcoming tour was planned with the BMV at the city’s Police, Court and Community Center, 705 E. 4th St.
Snedecor and other Lake County elected officials all decried the Hobart branch closing.
“It is disheartening that the decision was made solely on numbers and dollars. This will now require those people to have to travel to our BMV on the south end of our city or to the Portage branch,” Snedecor said last month after the closing was announced.
Shortly after announcing the Hobart branch closure, Hoage said the BMV would also close the West Lafayette branch on Dec. 15.
Carole Carlson is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
