The new pandemic gig is line-sitting

Don’t want to get up at 3 a.m. to wait in line at the MVC? Pay someone else to do it.

A new side hustle has emerged from the insanely screwed up experience that is going to the MVC: people will wait in line, for a price, so you don’t have to. With waiting times measured in hours and a limited number of patrons being let in, people are trying to increase their odds of actually transacting their business in one day by paying someone to get there early and stake out a spot.

While the MVC says they have cleared much of the pandemic-induced backlog, long lines are still the rule, rather than the exception, so a new industry has been born, but the rate varies.

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According to News 12 New Jersey, a teacher/handyman named Jeff Mauro was getting $175 to hold a place in line at the Hazlet MVC office; he got there at 3 am. However, in a story on NJ.com, high school senior Bryanna Patterson is charging a mere $100 for her line-sitting services. She said she usually gets there between 4 and 5 am. MVC spokesman William Connolly told NJ.com that people aren’t supposed to charge for holding spots, nor are they supposed to line up before 7 am, but the agency really can’t enforce either rule.

Apparently this is plenty of demand. Mauro told News 12 New Jersey that he line-sits three or four times a week for customers who typically saunter up just before the office opens at 8 and he goes off to his full time job. The spirit of entrepreneurship lives on through the pandemic.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Doyle. Any opinions expressed are Bill Doyle's own.