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A volunteer food project in Rotherhithe has provided a large number of prepared dishes weekly for the past two years to pensioners and vulnerable locals in southeast London. Yet, the group's plans have been thrown into disarray by the news that they will lose access to New Year’s Day.

The group depended on Zipcar, the app-based vehicle rental service that allowed its cars from the street. It caused shock through the capital when it declared it would shut down its UK operations from 1 January.

This means many helpers cannot pick up supplies from a major food charity, that collects surplus food from supermarkets, cafes and restaurants. Obvious alternatives are less convenient, more expensive, or do not offer the same convenient access.

“It’s going to be affected massively,” said Vimal Pandya, the community kitchen’s founder. “My team and I are concerned by the logistical challenge we will face. Many groups like ours are going to struggle.”

“Faced with this reality, they are all worried and thinking: ‘How are we going to carry on?”

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, now potentially left without convenient access to vehicles, avoiding the burden and cost of ownership. The vast majority of those people were likely with Zipcar, which had a near-monopoly position in the city.

This shutdown, subject to consultation with employees, is a big blow to the vision that vehicle clubs in urban areas could cut the need for private vehicle ownership. However, some experts also suggested that Zipcar’s departure need not mean the demise for the idea in Britain.

The Promise of Car Sharing

Shared vehicle use is valued by city planners and green advocates as a way of mitigating the problems associated with vehicle ownership. Most cars 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 carbon emissions to produce, and people who do not own cars tend to walk, cycle and take transit more. That benefits cities – easing congestion and pollution – and improves public health through increased activity.

What Went Wrong?

Zipcar was founded 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 total earnings, and a deficit that reached £11.7m in 2024 gave no reason to continue.

Avis Budget has said the closure is part of a “broader transformation across our global operations, where we are taking deliberate steps to streamline operations, enhance profitability”.

Its latest financial reports said revenues had fallen as drivers took less frequent, shorter trips. “This trend reflect the ongoing impact of the economic squeeze, which continues to suppress demand for discretionary spending,” it said.

London's Unique Challenges

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

• Patchwork Policies: Across 33 boroughs, car-club operators face a mosaic of different procedures and costs that made it harder.
• New Costs: The closure comes as electric cars start paying London’s congestion charge, adding extra expenses.
• Parking Permit Disparity: 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 major disincentive.

“We should literally be charged one-twentieth of a private parking cost,” argued Robert Schopen of Co Wheels. “We remove vehicles. We’re putting less polluting cars in their place.”

Lessons from Abroad

Nations in Europe offer models 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 several shared cars per 10,000 people, while France has 2.1 and Belgium has 6.3. The UK trails at 0.7.

“The evidence shows is that shared mobility around the world, particularly on the continent, is growing,” said Bharath Devanathan of Invers.

He suggested authorities should start to treat car sharing as a form of mass transit, and link it with train and bus stations. He added that a potential operator was already seriously considering entering the London market: “Operators will fill this gap.”

What Comes Next?

Other players can roughly be divided into two models:

1. Company-Owned Fleets: Which maintain 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 – similar to Airbnb for cars. Players include Britain’s Hiyacar and the US’s Getaround and Turo.

Turo, a US-headquartered peer-to-peer platform, is assessing 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.

Yet, it could take some time for other players to establish themselves. In the meantime, more people may choose to buy cars, and many across London will be left without access.

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 broader impact of its departure on community groups and the future of car-sharing in the UK.