Should there be a fee for vehicles at Nest yet?

Hi everyone!!! Your Friendly Winged Demon Messenger from the Core Team here... with an epic response.

So, to respond to this question on behalf of Nest team… We’ve had various discussions over the weeks about vehicle passes and been through many many loops...

Yes, we agree, this should have been added as an option when buying your ticket. We will absolutely make sure to do that next year.

There are lots of reasons for bringing back the car parking charge this year:

• We initially introduced the vehicle pass originally due to the limit for car parking on our old site. While we do have more space on the current site, we do still want to keep car use and parking to a minimum.

• Vehicle passes encourage car-sharing improving environmental impact of the festival in line with our Principles.

• Nest doesn’t happen in annual isolation. What we do this year impacts next year, and so on. Vehicle passes have been built into the 2019 budget as expected income. It’s a necessary income to support two key priorities for this year and beyond:

1) Providing 30% more funds for Art grants to support more ambitious art structures and experiences, such as the temple and effigy

2) Build a larger financial buffer for next year so that we can look to increase participant numbers beyond 500. The impact of increasing numbers means we have a disproportionate financial break even point forecasted for next year, due to licensing events of over 500 participants: 500+ is more expensive licensing and insurance. In short: If we want to grow and be inclusive to more people, then we need to have more money in the bank to sustain the inclusion.

If the community doesn’t want us to charge for parking this year the budget for next year will be cut, since art grants have already been allocated for this year. That means the loss of income would have to come out of the buffer for next year which presents a bigger risk to next year’s budget. Ultimately if we don’t collect enough revenue this year, it may force us to put up membership prices up further next year.

• Vehicle passes are a very common thing for Burn events. At Burning Man, there is a yearly charge of roughly $80 for a vehicle pass. Obviously, the pressure put on the environment by cars there is much larger. We are looking to charge only £10 per car. Blue badge holders will be exempt from the charge as we recognise cars are an access need for some people.

• Movement of vehicles around the site last year caused us something of a safety concern as the road was also being used by people walking from free camp to camps. So the fewer cars on site the better. From another security perspective, having clearly displayed vehicle passes means we can identify which cars should and should not be on site.

Core team think this is a great discussion to be having on Loomio, where the entire community can make the decision, based on the information above as well as individual feelings. if the community decides we don’t want vehicle passes, then we will remove them from the budget. However, it’s important that everyone understands the rationale and the trade-offs as mentioned above.

Let's continue the conversation on Loomio and make a final decision at the next community event on 7th April.
Love love
~ S ~

Thanks, Siren.
I think at least it should be considered that those who bought Low Income tickets should be exempt from this year too, to respond to the points above from others.
I think just reducing vehicles won't particularly address vehicles on the road through site and the safety issue there - especially as it's a steep hill with a blind spot. I'd hope another solution would present here although there will need to be vehicles using it (I will for striking art on the last day at a minimum)
If passes are supposed to be displayed, has it been considered what would happen if you found a vehicle without one?
The vehicle pass for BM isn't "yearly" - it's the same as Nest, for a singular event.
I believe the main reason it was introduced was to help combat Exodus / Entry queues, which is a problem unique to BM really. They have no space issues, kind of like Nest for now. Yes, it does promote car sharing and they have a more serious LNT issue with numbers of vehicles too.
I guess it's might also be worth considering that for many, bringing a vehicle is a necessity to transport infrastructure, art work, etc.

All really good points, and i will take this back to core team. Thank you! :)

I don't think £10 is too steep for a car or campervan pass, personally, and I think this is a good way to raise fund as a buffer for next year. However, I do feel there should be some consideration for vehicles bringing art/theme camps to Nest - it seems unfair (from the perspective of a camp that will be hiring at least two vans, at not inconsiderable personal expense, to bring entertainment to Nest), to have to pay additional fees for the van itself.

I'm trying to think of circumstances where someone who owns and runs a car might also be on a low income. Agree that people bring art and building camps should be exempt

Perhaps those above can also comment on this point about low income. Speaking personally as someone who was once unemployed for 2.5 years and on Job Seekers Allowance with NO income I still had a car and didn't feel obliged to sell it or make it SORN. In fact it was highly useful in trying to find jobs and go to interviews. If I'd read the above comment I would probably have not felt welcome at Nest because I think I'd have felt guilty in attending and I shouldn't have been spending money on an event like that because my funds should be going on more "important" things.
Are we checking if someone owns and runs a car as part of qualifying for Low Income tickets?

Agreeing with Simon here - outside of London, a car is essential, and I don’t think it should be taken into account for low-income means testing. Personally, coming from Bristol, for example, is much cheaper by car than by train, especially considering the amount of stuff each person has to bring to be self-sufficient for a week.

Agree 100%. I don't think we should be judging anyone's low income status on whether they own and run a car, these two things should not be connected.

If someone has a LI ticket or self identifies as having accessibility issues then I think we should give them a free car parking permit, no questions asked.

And this should not just be based on 'blue badge'. There are plenty of folks who might not qualify for blue badge, but may not physically and/or mentally be able to take 2 trains, and walk for buses etc. Especially as Charlotte said, when camping for a week and being self sufficient.

Blimey. I travel for two hours each day to go to a job outside of London that pays about 20p an hour above minimum wage. I work about 25 hours a week, and am also paying London rent and student fees. Grants aren't available for my course, the job is my only income. I leave the house at 5.30am and return at 10pm. A car is the only way I would be able to do this journey. I'm not here to bitch and complain about life, and tbh, I find it a little strange to be disclosing this stuff on the internet, but I do find this comment a little odd, although I'm hoping it wasn't meant in such a way!

Okay for the sake of a gesture to inclusion, I just don't think it will make much of a difference to anyone and people on low income still need to consider their environmental impact