In & Out Hub
The In & Out Hub is responsible for all entry and exit operations at YOUtopia. Our functions begin pre-event with ticket processing and transportation layout, and grows in responsibility and complexity on-site with the operation of the gate, parking lots, and transportation system.
This year’s In & Out Hub was run by Co-Leads Matthew “HazMatt” Gale and Raul Barajas. The main responsibility of the In & Out Hub lead is to have the overall vision for the Hub’s operations, then support and empower their department leads to see it realized. This is done through planning meetings, information dissemination (interdepartmental as well as to other hubs), finding resources and team members that they need to run their departments with ease and efficacy. The hub lead can also serve as the intermediary between department leads and other hubs.
There are 5 departments within the In & Out Hub:
1. Ticketing & Will Call (Led by Sam & Jessie) Ticketing ensures you have adulted properly by acquiring a ticket, parking pass and have left your dog, cat, or small farm animals at home. These are also the folks who’ll ask you to fill out and sign innumerable forms waiving your rights to your life, including but not limited to your house, pet gerbil, and second cousin. The Ticketing Department accepts compliments and bribes, although they’ll still need to see your ticket before they’ll give you a wristband to enter YOUtopia.
2. Gate & Entry (Led by Paisley and Merms) The gate is the department that first welcomes you into YOUtopia with a bit of harassment and a skeptical look. While ransacking vehicles and herding scatter-brained burners, Gate team ensures a smooth entrance for all participants. They work with Greeters, Ticketing, and City Planning to help people reach their desired destination. Critical thinking and communication skills are a must.
3. Greeters department (led by Jim and Sara): Greeters department welcomes participants into the event and are responsible for navigating participants safely to their campsite and off site in collaboration with City Planning, Road Warriors, and Safety. Greeters are also responsible for disseminating important safety information as well as educating participants on the event’s culture, specifically, best practices for LNT and consent.
4. Road Warriors (Led by Chris and Kowboy) The Road Warriors handle traffic flow and parking to make sure we can all fit comfortably in the event. Working closely with City Planning, Road Warriors have a good handle on mapping out how exactly to fit all the cars, RVs, and other vehicles into the event with style and grace. They’ll also kindly ask you to “move or be moved” if you find yourself parked in the wrong area.
5. Transpo & DMV (Led by Portals and Vortex) Transpo operates the event shuttles serving the off-site parking lot and within the event grounds. The Department of Mutant Vehicle division approves and licenses art cars to help cruise participants around YOUtopia in style, The Transportation crew keeps it moving.
What did we do incredibly well this year?
All departments within the In & Out Hub did an absolutely incredible job overall this year. The amount of praise bestowed amongst departments for each other and from participants has been enormously high. The following are but a few of the things that went really well:
1. Entry and Shuttle wait times. Wait times never seemed to exceed just over 20 minutes for either the gate or the shuttles, with an average of under 10 minutes. This was fantastic and highly regarded by the participants entering.
2. Printed Tickets. Printed tickets worked well and accelerated gate and ticketing departments processing times.
3. One Way Roads. The one way roads during ingress and throughout the event in areas 6 and 7 assisted in keeping the traffic flowing well and safely.
4. Navigation: Cut down on the number of participants who circle through the event several times in attempt to find their campsite and off site parking. The new camp numbering made it easier to find a location on the map. Greeters did an excellent job of informing participants where they needed to go.
5. Rockstars. The leads team stepped up to handle every challenge given to them. Whenever there was a problem, there were a few people from each department that would consistently step up and handle it.
6. Proper Planning and Practice Prevents Poor Performance. The In & Out hub continues to improve by building on past successes and continuing to work more efficiently each year. Extensive planning at meetings between departments in the hub helped to foster an atmosphere of cooperation, team building, and expectation management.
What could we do better next year?
There are several changes that have been identified to improve the overall efficiency in operation of the In & Out Hub, the following are some of the more critical challenges and their solutions that have been identified by multiple departments:
1. Signage / Parking Lot & Event Grounds. Visibility of signage (while increased from last year) can still be improved to ease traffic flow and help direct participants between the gate and parking. The addition of signs with safety and culture tips will provide and reinforce additional information throughout the event.
2. Blocked Roadways. Additional Roadwarriors can be used in the future to monitor the road ways and ensure that fire lanes are being kept clear at all times when people stop for directions or to drop off their camp supplies.
3. Volunteers. Getting sufficient volunteers Saturday night for transportation to prevent gaps in shuttle services. Increase the number of allotted volunteers for the greeters during peak ingress hours to prevent any back ups.