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A volunteer food project in Rotherhithe has distributed hundreds of cooked meals each week for two years to pensioners and needy locals in south London. Yet, their operations face major disruption by the news 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 via smartphone. The company caused shock through the capital when it declared it would cease its UK business from 1 January.

This means many volunteers will be unable to pick up supplies from a major food charity, that collects surplus food from grocery stores, cafes and restaurants. Other options are less convenient, more expensive, or lack the same flexible hours.

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

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

A Significant Setback for City Vehicle Clubs

The community kitchen’s drivers are among over 500,000 people in London who were car club members, now potentially left without easy use to vehicles, avoiding the burden and cost of ownership. The vast majority 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 hopes that car sharing in cities could cut the need for private vehicle ownership. However, some experts also suggested that Zipcar’s departure need not spell the end for the concept in Britain.

The Promise of Car Sharing

Car sharing is valued by many urbanists and environmentalists as a way of mitigating the problems associated with vehicle ownership. Typically, vehicles sit idle 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 use active travel and take transit more. That benefits cities – easing congestion and pollution – and improves public health through increased activity.

Understanding the Decline

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 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 “wider restructuring across our international business, where we are taking targeted actions 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.

The Capital's Specific Hurdles

However, several experts noted that London has particular issues 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 prices that complicate operations.
• New Costs: The closure coincides with 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 similar shared vehicle would pay over £1,100 per year, 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 models for London to follow. Germany enacted national car-sharing legislation in 2017, providing a nationwide framework for parking, support 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, especially in Europe, is expanding,” said Bharath Devanathan of Invers.

He suggested authorities should start to treat car sharing as a form of mass transit, and integrate it with train and bus stations. He added that one unnamed client 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 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 hire out their own vehicles via an app – similar to Airbnb for cars. Examples Britain’s Hiyacar and the US’s Getaround and Turo.

Turo, a US-headquartered peer-to-peer platform, is already weighing up the UK gap. Rory Brimmer, its UK managing director, said there was a “significant chance” 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 a while for other players to establish themselves. For now, more people may feel forced to buy cars, and others across London will be left without access.

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