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The volunteer food project in Rotherhithe has distributed hundreds of prepared dishes weekly for the past two years to elderly residents and vulnerable locals in southeast London. Yet, their operations face major disruption by the announcement that they will not have use of New Year’s Day.

The group depended on Zipcar, the app-based vehicle rental service that customers to access its cars from the street. The company sent shockwaves through the capital when it declared it would shut down its UK business from 1 January.

It will mean many helpers cannot collect food from a major food charity, that collects excess produce from grocery stores, cafes and restaurants. Other options are less convenient, more expensive, or do not offer the same flexible hours.

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

“Faced with this reality, everyone is concerned and thinking: ‘How are we going to carry on?”

A Significant Setback for Urban Car-Sharing

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

This shutdown, pending consultation with staff, is a serious setback to hopes that vehicle clubs in urban areas could cut the need for owning a car. However, some experts have noted that Zipcar’s departure need not spell the end for the concept in Britain.

The Promise of Shared Mobility

Shared vehicle use is prized by city planners and green advocates as a way of mitigating the ills associated with vehicle ownership. Most cars sit as two-tonne dead weights on the street for 95% of the time, using up space. They also require large CO2 output to produce, and people who do not own cars tend to use active travel and take public transport more. That benefits cities – reducing congestion and pollution – and boosts public health through increased activity.

What Went Wrong?

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

Avis Budget has said the closure is part of a “wider restructuring across our international business, where we are taking deliberate steps to streamline operations, improve returns”.

Its latest financial reports said revenues had declined 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.

London's Unique Challenges

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

• Patchwork Policies: 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 start paying London’s congestion charge, adding extra expenses.
• Parking Permit Disparity: Locals in some boroughs pay just £63 for a year’s electric car parking permit. A floating car club would pay over £1,100 per year, creating a major disincentive.

“Our fees should be one-twentieth of a private parking cost,” argued Robert Schopen of Co Wheels. “We’re taking cars off the street. We’re putting less polluting cars in their place.”

A European Example

Other European countries offer models for London to follow. Germany enacted national shared mobility laws 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.

“The evidence shows is that shared mobility around the world, particularly on the continent, is expanding,” commented 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 a potential operator was looking at entering the London market: “Operators will fill this gap.”

The Future Landscape

Other players can be split into two camps:

1. Company-Owned Fleets: Which own or lease their own cars. This includes 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. Players include 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 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.

However, it could take a while for other players to build momentum. In the meantime, more people may feel forced to buy cars, and many across London will be without a convenient option.

For Rotherhithe community kitchen, the next month will be a scramble to find a way. The delivery problem caused by Zipcar’s exit highlights the broader impact of its departure on community groups and the prospects of shared mobility in the UK.