Sorry, but it is hard to feel bad for people who stand in line for several hours for no good reason.

On Aug. 18, the state Department of Motor Vehicle branches reopened across the state after closing for a week to complete a computer upgrade and provide staff training in how to use it. What followed were lines that stretched out the doors and circled around offices as patrons sometimes waited several hours to reach a clerk. Hundreds went home never having reached their destination.

Expect more long lines when DMV offices, which do not open Mondays, reopen for the new week. Tuesdays are busy days at the DMV under the best circumstances.

DMV Commissioner Andres Ayala Jr. tells us, however, that literally thousands of those people who stood in line, and probably hundreds who will do so again today, don’t have to. The big improvement in the DMV software system is that patrons can do many more motor vehicle transactions online, without having to visit a DMV branch office.

Mr. Ayala said a review of the transactions from last week show that in the first few days after reopening, 5,162  people came to the counter after standing in line for hours to conduct business that they could have done online. That was roughly one-third of all transactions.

Even when given material while waiting in line, explaining the online and other alternatives, many opted to keep waiting, said the commissioner, citing staff accounts.

Sorry, but we don’t get it.

Online options include checking to make sure there are no outstanding problems that can hold up registering a vehicle or a renewal, such as unpaid motor vehicle property taxes or parking tickets. Drivers can renew a registration or cancel one online, reprint a registration certificate, order vanity plates or replace damaged plates.

Drivers can also renew licenses at AAA offices.

Want another reason to wait until the lines start to ease? The DMV extended the expiration deadlines for renewals of driver’s licenses and vehicle registrations. For any vehicle registration or driver’s license that expires on or after Aug. 11, drivers can do renewals without a late fee until Oct. 10. Police know this and won’t be ticketing for licenses and registrations that qualify for the extension.

In fact, the DMV is moving in the direction that this newspaper has long pushed for — providing more services online.

Check out http://www.ct.gov/dmv/site/default.asp for more details.

This is not to suggest the DMV is blameless for the fiasco. Businesses big and small must also periodically go through major computer software upgrades, but typically manage to do so without closing operations or undergoing such upheaval.

Mr. Ayala said in the first week using the new computer system, DMV clerks were, on average, taking 18 minutes per transaction, compared to 9 minutes back when they were using the old system with which they were more familiar. While some added delay is expected anytime employees have to learn a new computer system, a doubling of wait times suggests problems with the training.

And while Commissioner Ayala said his department did an extensive informational campaign to let people know they could avoid standing in line when its branches reopened with the new computer system, it was clearly not effective.

The test of time will determine if the $25 million software upgrade was worth the investment. If effective, the habits of patrons will begin to change as they do more of their DMV business online. Staffers becoming more familiar with the new software should complete transactions as fast or faster than before the computer upgrade. Through attrition, the staffing at DMV offices should shrink as drivers conduct less of their motor vehicle business in person.

If the upgrade works, the long lines will fade into memory and those visits to the DMV that are unavoidable will at least be less traumatic.