Gov. Phil Murphy said Wednesday that his administration is working to alleviate crowding at the state Motor Vehicle Commission offices.

Hundreds of people stood in line for hours on Tuesday and Wednesday once the offices reopened following closures caused by COVID-19. Many locations had to cut off the lines early due to the size of the crowds.

“We knew we were going to have a tsunami, so, I wouldn’t use the word ‘unprepared,’ but I’m really frustrated by this,” Murphy said Wednesday.

Some customers camped out overnight, while others showed up at 3 a.m. to get in line to get their driver licenses, registrations and inspections. Often the lines snaked around the building.

“My guess is that most people felt it was not up to their expectations,” said Murphy. “It’s not up to ours…if you’re upset about this, so am I.”

MVC officials said that the large crowds were due to social distancing requirements and extraordinarily high customer volumes caused by backlogs. Murphy said that it will take some time to fix it.

“This is not going to get better overnight,” he said.

MVC employees who were placed on budget-saving furloughs will be heading back to work immediately. And starting on Monday, MVC sites will be open six days a week, Monday through Saturday.

“We are going to work harder and better to deliver a better experience,” Murphy said.

The governor is also asking people to skip a trip to the MVC when possible and to use the agency’s website. He also asks that people avoid camping out at the locations overnight.

MVC offices will be closed on Saturday, July 11, but will be opened on Saturdays the next weekend.