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The community kitchen in Rotherhithe has been delivering a large number of cooked meals each week for two years to elderly residents and vulnerable locals in south London. However, their operations have been thrown into disarray by the news that they will lose access to New Year’s Day.

This organization depended 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, that collects excess produce from supermarkets, cafes and restaurants. Other options are further away, costlier, or do not offer the same convenient access.

“The impact will be massively,” stated Vimal Pandya, the community kitchen’s founder. “Personally me and my team are concerned by the logistical challenge we will face. A lot of people like ours will face difficulties.”

“Faced with this reality, they are all worried and thinking: ‘How will we continue?’”

A Major Blow for City Vehicle Clubs

The community kitchen’s drivers are part of 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 members were probably with Zipcar, which had a near-monopoly position in the city.

The planned closure, pending consultation with employees, is a serious setback to hopes that vehicle clubs in cities could reduce the need for private vehicle ownership. However, some experts also suggested that Zipcar’s departure need not spell the end for the idea in Britain.

The Promise of Shared Mobility

Car sharing is valued by many urbanists and green advocates as a way of mitigating the problems associated with vehicle ownership. Most cars sit idle on the street for 95% 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 public transport more. That benefits cities – easing congestion and pollution – and boosts people’s health through more exercise.

What Went Wrong?

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 owner's total earnings, and a loss 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 international business, where we are taking targeted actions to streamline operations, enhance profitability”.

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

London's Unique Challenges

Yet, several experts 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 varying processes 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 as little as £63 for a annual electric car parking permit. A similar shared vehicle would pay over £1,100 per year, 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’re putting less polluting cars in their place.”

A European Example

Nations in Europe offer examples 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.

“The evidence shows is that car sharing around the world, especially in Europe, is growing,” commented Bharath Devanathan of Invers.

Devanathan said authorities should start to view vehicle clubs as a form of public transport, and integrate it with train and bus stations. He added that a potential operator 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 camps:

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 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 “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 some time for other players to build momentum. For now, more people may feel forced to buy cars, and others across London will be left without access.

For the volunteers in Rotherhithe, the coming weeks will be a rush to find a way. The delivery problem caused by Zipcar’s exit underscores the wider implications of its departure on vital services and the future of car-sharing in the UK.