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A volunteer food project in Rotherhithe has been delivering a large number of cooked meals weekly for the past two years to pensioners and vulnerable locals in southeast London. However, their operations have been thrown into disarray by the news that they will not have use of New Year’s Day.

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

This means many helpers cannot pick up supplies from the Felix Project, that collects excess produce from grocery stores, cafes and restaurants. Obvious alternatives are less convenient, more expensive, or lack the same flexible hours.

“The impact will be massively,” stated Vimal Pandya, the project's founder. “My team and I are concerned by the logistical challenge we will face. Many groups like ours will face difficulties.”

“Knowing the reality, everyone is concerned and thinking: ‘How will we continue?’”

A Major Blow for City Vehicle Clubs

The community kitchen’s drivers are part of more than half a million people in London who were car club members, who could be left without easy use to vehicles, avoiding the burden and cost of ownership. Most of those members were likely with Zipcar, which had a near-monopoly position in the city.

The planned closure, pending consultation with staff, is a big blow to the vision that vehicle clubs in cities could cut the need for private vehicle ownership. However, some analysts also suggested that Zipcar’s exit need not mean the demise for the concept in Britain.

The Potential of Shared Mobility

Shared vehicle use is valued by many urbanists and environmentalists as a way of mitigating the problems linked to vehicle ownership. Typically, vehicles sit as two-tonne dead weights on the side of the road for the vast majority of the time, occupying parking. They also require large CO2 output to produce, and people who do not own cars tend to use active travel and take transit more. That helps urban areas – easing congestion and pollution – and boosts public health through increased activity.

What Went Wrong?

Zipcar was founded in 2000 before its acquisition by the American rental giant Avis Budget in 2013. Zipcar’s UK revenues were minimal compared with its parent company's overall annual revenue, and a deficit that reached £11.7m in 2024 gave little incentive to continue.

The parent company stated the closure is part of a “wider restructuring across our international business, where we are taking deliberate steps to streamline operations, improve returns”.

Zipcar’s most recent accounts noted revenues had declined as drivers took less frequent, shorter trips. “This trend reflect the ongoing impact of the cost-of-living crisis, which is dampening demand for non-essential services,” it said.

London's Unique Hurdles

Yet, industry observers noted that London has particular issues that made it much harder for the sector to succeed.

• Inconsistent Rules: With numerous local councils, car-club operators face a patchwork of different procedures and costs that complicate operations.
• Congestion Charge: The closure comes as electric cars becoming liable for London’s congestion charge, adding unavoidable costs.
• Unequal Parking Fees: Residents in some boroughs pay just £63 for a annual electric car parking permit. A floating car club would pay over £1,100 annually, creating a major disincentive.

“Our fees should be one-twentieth of a resident’s permit,” argued Robert Schopen of Co Wheels. “We remove vehicles. We’re putting less polluting cars in their place.”

A European Example

Nations in Europe offer examples for London to follow. Germany introduced national car-sharing legislation in 2017, providing a unified system for parking, support and exemptions. Now, the country has 5.4 shared cars per 10,000 people, while France has 2.1 and Belgium has 6.3. The UK trails at 0.7.

“What we see is that car sharing around the world, especially in Europe, is expanding,” said Bharath Devanathan of Invers.

He suggested 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

The company’s competitors can roughly be divided into two models:

1. Fleet Operators: Which maintain their own cars. Examples Denmark’s GreenMobility, France’s Free2Move, and Germany’s Miles Mobility.
2. Peer-to-Peer Services: 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.

Turo, a US-headquartered P2P service, is assessing the UK gap. Rory Brimmer, its UK head, said there was a “big opportunity” 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 a while for other players to build momentum. For now, more people may choose to buy cars, and others across London will be without a convenient option.

For Rotherhithe community kitchen, the coming weeks will be a scramble to find a solution. The logistical challenge caused by Zipcar’s exit underscores the broader impact of its departure on community groups and the prospects of shared mobility in the UK.