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A volunteer food project in Rotherhithe has been delivering hundreds of cooked meals each week for two years to elderly residents and vulnerable locals in south London. However, their operations face major disruption by the news that they will lose use of New Year’s Day.

This organization depended on Zipcar, the car-sharing company that allowed its fleet of vehicles via smartphone. The company caused shock through the capital when it said it would cease its UK operations from 1 January.

It will mean many helpers cannot collect food from a major food charity, which gathers excess produce from supermarkets, cafes and restaurants. Obvious alternatives are further away, costlier, or do not offer the same flexible hours.

“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 will we continue?’”

A Significant Setback for City Vehicle Clubs

The community kitchen’s drivers are part of more than half a million people in London registered as car club members, who could be left without convenient access to vehicles, avoiding the burden and cost of ownership. Most of those members were likely with Zipcar, which held a dominant position in the city.

The planned closure, subject to consultation with staff, is a big blow to the vision that car sharing in cities could reduce the need for owning a car. However, some experts have noted that Zipcar’s exit need not spell the end for the idea in Britain.

The Potential of Car Sharing

Car sharing is valued by city planners 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 95% of the time, occupying parking. They also require large carbon emissions to produce, and people who do not own cars tend to use active travel and take public transport more. That helps urban areas – easing congestion and pollution – and boosts people’s health through increased activity.

What Went Wrong?

The company started in 2000 before being bought by the US car rental group Avis Budget in 2013. Zipcar’s UK revenues barely registered compared with its owner's total earnings, and a loss that grew to £11.7m in 2024 gave no reason 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 simplify processes, enhance profitability”.

Its latest financial reports said revenues had declined as drivers took fewer and shorter trips. “This trend reflect the continuing effect of the cost-of-living crisis, which is dampening demand for discretionary spending,” it said.

The Capital's Specific Hurdles

However, several experts noted that London has specific problems that made it difficult 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.
• New Costs: The closure coincides with electric cars start paying London’s congestion charge, adding unavoidable costs.
• Unequal Parking Fees: Locals in some boroughs pay just £63 for a year’s 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,” said Robert Schopen of Co Wheels. “We remove vehicles. We introduce cleaner models 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 unified system for parking, subsidies 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.

“The evidence shows is that car sharing around the world, especially in Europe, is growing,” commented 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 one unnamed client was already seriously considering entering the London market: “There will be fill this gap.”

The Future Landscape

The company’s competitors can be split 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 rent out their own vehicles via an app – a kind of Airbnb for cars. Examples Britain’s Hiyacar and the US’s Getaround and Turo.

One company, a US-headquartered peer-to-peer platform, 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.

Yet, it could take some time for other players to build momentum. For now, more people may feel forced to buy cars, and many across London will be left without access.

For Rotherhithe community kitchen, the coming weeks will be a rush to find a solution. The delivery problem caused by Zipcar’s exit highlights the broader impact of its departure on community groups and the future of shared mobility in the UK.