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A volunteer food project in Rotherhithe has been delivering hundreds of prepared dishes weekly for two years to elderly residents and vulnerable locals in southeast London. Yet, their operations face major disruption by the announcement that they will lose cars and vans on New Year’s Day.

The group had relied on Zipcar, the car-sharing company that customers to access its fleet of vehicles from the street. It caused shock across London when it said it would shut down its UK operations from 1 January.

This means many helpers will be unable to pick up supplies from a major food charity, that collects excess produce from grocery stores, cafes and restaurants. Obvious alternatives are less convenient, costlier, or lack the same convenient access.

“The impact will be massively,” stated Vimal Pandya, the community kitchen’s founder. “Personally me and my team are concerned by the operational hurdle we will face. A lot of people like ours will face difficulties.”

“Knowing the reality, they are all worried and thinking: ‘How will we continue?’”

A Major Blow for City Vehicle Clubs

The community kitchen’s drivers are among more than half a million people in London registered as car club members, now potentially left without convenient access to vehicles, without the hassle and cost of ownership. The vast majority of those people were likely with Zipcar, which had a near-monopoly position in the city.

The planned closure, subject to consultation with employees, is a big blow to hopes that vehicle clubs in urban areas could cut the need for private vehicle ownership. Yet, some analysts have noted that Zipcar’s departure need not mean the demise for the concept in Britain.

The Potential of Shared Mobility

Shared vehicle use is valued by many urbanists and green advocates as a way of reducing the problems associated with vehicle ownership. Most cars sit as two-tonne dead weights on the side of the road for 95% of the time, occupying parking. They also involve large carbon emissions to produce, and people without a vehicle tend to walk, cycle and take public transport more. That benefits cities – reducing congestion and pollution – and improves public health through increased activity.

What Went Wrong?

Zipcar was founded in 2000 before its acquisition by the US car rental group Avis Budget in 2013. Zipcar’s UK income were minimal compared with its parent company's total earnings, and a loss 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 streamline operations, 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 cost-of-living crisis, which is dampening demand for discretionary spending,” it said.

The Capital's Specific Challenges

However, several experts noted that London has specific problems that made it difficult for the company and its rivals to succeed.

• Patchwork Policies: Across 33 boroughs, car-club operators face a patchwork of different procedures and prices that made it harder.
• Congestion Charge: The closure coincides with electric cars becoming liable for London’s congestion charge, adding unavoidable costs.
• Unequal Parking Fees: Residents in some boroughs pay as little as £63 for a annual electric car parking permit. A floating car club would pay over £1,100 annually, creating a significant barrier.

“We should literally be charged one-twentieth of a resident’s permit,” argued Robert Schopen of Co Wheels. “We remove vehicles. We introduce cleaner models in their place.”

A European Example

Other European countries offer examples for London to follow. Germany enacted national car-sharing legislation in 2017, providing a nationwide framework for parking, subsidies and waivers. Now, the country has 5.4 shared cars per 10,000 people, while France has 2.1 and Belgium has 6.3. The UK lags behind at 0.7.

“What we see is that car sharing around the world, particularly on the continent, is expanding,” commented Bharath Devanathan of Invers.

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

The Future Landscape

Other players can be split into two models:

1. Company-Owned Fleets: Which own or lease their own cars. Examples Denmark’s GreenMobility, France’s Free2Move, and Germany’s Miles Mobility.
2. Person-to-Person Rentals: Which allow users to hire 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 assessing the UK gap. Rory Brimmer, its UK managing director, said there was a “significant chance” to win more users. “A space exists that is going to need to be filled, because London still needs to move,” Brimmer said.

Yet, it could take some time for other players to establish themselves. In the meantime, more people may feel forced to buy cars, and others across London will be without a convenient option.

For the volunteers in Rotherhithe, the coming weeks will be a rush to find a solution. The delivery problem caused by Zipcar’s exit underscores the wider implications of its departure on community groups and the prospects of shared mobility in the UK.