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A community kitchen in Rotherhithe has provided a large number of cooked meals weekly for the past two years to elderly residents and needy locals in south London. However, their operations face major disruption by the announcement that they will lose access to New Year’s Day.

The group depended on Zipcar, the app-based vehicle rental service that customers to access its cars via smartphone. It caused shock through the capital when it declared it would cease its UK business from 1 January.

It will mean many volunteers cannot collect food from the Felix Project, that collects surplus food from supermarkets, cafes and restaurants. Other options are further away, costlier, or lack the same flexible hours.

“The impact will be massively,” stated Vimal Pandya, the project's founder. “Personally me and my team are worried about the operational hurdle we will face. Many groups like ours will face difficulties.”

“Faced with this reality, everyone is concerned and thinking: ‘How are we going to carry on?”

A Major Blow for Urban Car-Sharing

These volunteers are part of more than half a million people in London who were car club members, now potentially left without convenient access to vehicles, without the hassle and cost of ownership. Most of those people were probably with Zipcar, which had a near-monopoly position in the city.

This shutdown, subject to consultation with staff, is a serious setback to the vision that car sharing in urban areas could reduce the need for owning a car. Yet, some experts have noted that Zipcar’s departure need not mean the demise for the idea in Britain.

The Potential of Shared Mobility

Shared vehicle use is prized by many urbanists and environmentalists as a way of reducing the problems associated with vehicle ownership. Typically, vehicles sit as two-tonne dead weights on the street for the vast majority of the time, using up space. They also require large carbon emissions to produce, and people without a vehicle tend to walk, cycle and take public transport more. That helps urban areas – reducing congestion and pollution – and boosts people’s health through more exercise.

Understanding the Decline

The company started in 2000 before being bought by the American rental giant Avis Budget in 2013. Zipcar’s UK revenues were minimal compared with its owner's overall annual revenue, and a deficit that grew to £11.7m in 2024 gave no reason to continue.

Avis Budget has said the closure is part of a “broader transformation across our international business, where we are taking targeted actions to simplify processes, improve returns”.

Zipcar’s most recent accounts noted revenues had fallen as drivers took less frequent, shorter trips. “This trend reflect the continuing effect of the economic squeeze, which continues to suppress demand for non-essential services,” it said.

London's Unique Hurdles

Yet, several experts noted that London has specific problems that made it difficult for the sector to succeed.

• Patchwork Policies: Across 33 boroughs, car-club operators face a patchwork of varying processes and costs that made it harder.
• New Costs: The closure coincides with electric cars becoming liable for London’s congestion charge, adding unavoidable costs.
• Parking Permit Disparity: Residents in some boroughs pay just £63 for a year’s electric car parking permit. A floating car club would pay over £1,100 per year, creating a significant barrier.

“Our fees should be one-twentieth of a private parking cost,” argued Robert Schopen of Co Wheels. “We’re taking cars off the street. We’re putting less polluting cars in their place.”

A European Example

Nations in Europe offer examples for London to follow. Germany introduced national shared mobility laws in 2017, providing a nationwide framework for parking, support and exemptions. Now, the country has several shared cars per 10,000 people, while France has 2.1 and Belgium has 6.3. The UK lags behind at 0.7.

“The evidence shows is that car sharing around the world, especially in Europe, is growing,” commented Bharath Devanathan of Invers.

Devanathan said authorities should start to treat car sharing as a form of public transport, and link it with train and bus stations. He added that a potential operator was looking at entering the London market: “Operators will fill this gap.”

The Future Landscape

Other players can be split into two models:

1. Company-Owned Fleets: Which maintain their own cars. This includes Denmark’s GreenMobility, France’s Free2Move, and Germany’s Miles Mobility.
2. Peer-to-Peer Services: Which allow users to rent out their own vehicles via an app – a kind of Airbnb for cars. Examples Britain’s Hiyacar and the US’s Getaround and Turo.

One company, a US-headquartered peer-to-peer platform, is already weighing up the UK gap. Rory Brimmer, its UK managing director, said there was a “big opportunity” to win more users. “There is a void that is going to need to be filled, because London still needs to move,” Brimmer said.

However, it could take a while for other players to establish themselves. In the meantime, more people may choose to buy cars, and many across London will be without a convenient option.

For Rotherhithe community kitchen, the next month will be a scramble to find a solution. The logistical challenge caused by Zipcar’s exit underscores the wider implications of its departure on community groups and the prospects of car-sharing in the UK.