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The volunteer food project in Rotherhithe has provided a large number of prepared dishes each week for two years to pensioners and vulnerable locals in southeast London. Yet, their operations face major disruption by the announcement that they will not have access to New Year’s Day.

This organization had relied on Zipcar, the car-sharing company that customers to access its cars from the street. It caused shock across London when it said it would shut down its UK business from 1 January.

This means many volunteers cannot pick up supplies from a major food charity, which gathers surplus food from supermarkets, cafes and restaurants. Obvious alternatives are further away, more expensive, or lack the same flexible hours.

“It’s going to be affected massively,” stated Vimal Pandya, the community kitchen’s founder. “My team and I are worried about the logistical challenge we will face. A lot of people like ours are going to struggle.”

“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 among over 500,000 people in London registered as car club members, now potentially left without convenient access to vehicles, without the hassle and cost of ownership. Most of those members were likely with Zipcar, which held a dominant position in the city.

The planned closure, pending consultation with staff, is a serious setback to hopes that car sharing in cities could reduce the need for private vehicle ownership. Yet, some experts have noted that Zipcar’s exit need not mean the demise for the concept in Britain.

The Potential of Car Sharing

Shared vehicle use is valued by many urbanists and environmentalists as a way of mitigating the problems linked to 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 involve large carbon emissions to produce, and people without a vehicle tend to use active travel and take transit more. That benefits cities – easing congestion and pollution – and boosts people’s health through increased activity.

Understanding the Decline

The company started in 2000 before being bought by the US car rental group Avis Budget in 2013. Zipcar’s UK income barely registered compared with its owner's total earnings, and a deficit that reached £11.7m in 2024 gave no reason to continue.

The parent company stated the closure is part of a “broader transformation across our global operations, where we are taking targeted actions to simplify processes, enhance profitability”.

Zipcar’s most recent accounts said revenues had fallen as drivers took fewer and shorter trips. “These changes reflect the continuing effect of the cost-of-living crisis, which is dampening demand for discretionary spending,” it said.

London's Unique Hurdles

However, industry observers noted that London has specific problems that made it much harder for the sector to succeed.

• Inconsistent Rules: Across 33 boroughs, car-club operators face a mosaic of different procedures and costs that complicate operations.
• New Costs: The closure coincides with electric cars start paying London’s congestion charge, adding unavoidable costs.
• Unequal Parking Fees: Residents in some boroughs pay just £63 for a year’s electric car parking permit. A similar shared vehicle would pay over £1,100 annually, creating a significant barrier.

“Our fees should be 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 examples for London to follow. Germany enacted 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 trails at 0.7.

“The evidence shows is that shared mobility around the world, especially in Europe, is growing,” said Bharath Devanathan of Invers.

He suggested authorities should start to view vehicle clubs as a form of public transport, and integrate it with train and bus stations. He added that one unnamed client was already seriously considering entering the London market: “There will be fill this gap.”

What Comes Next?

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

1. Fleet Operators: Which own or lease their own cars. Examples 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 – similar to 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. For now, more people may choose to buy cars, and many across London will be without a convenient option.

For Rotherhithe community kitchen, the coming weeks will be a scramble to find a way. The delivery problem caused by Zipcar’s exit highlights the wider implications of its departure on community groups and the future of car-sharing in the UK.