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A community kitchen in Rotherhithe has provided hundreds of cooked meals weekly for the past two years to pensioners and vulnerable locals in southeast London. Yet, their operations face major disruption by the news that they will not have use of New Year’s Day.

The group had relied on Zipcar, the app-based vehicle rental service that customers to access its cars from the street. It caused shock across London when it declared it would shut down its UK operations from 1 January.

It will mean many volunteers will be unable to collect food from the Felix Project, which gathers surplus food from supermarkets, cafes and restaurants. Other options are less convenient, more expensive, or do not offer the same convenient access.

“It’s going to be affected 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.”

“Knowing the reality, everyone is concerned and thinking: ‘How are we going to carry on?”

A Major Blow for City Vehicle Clubs

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 people were probably with Zipcar, which had a near-monopoly position in the city.

The planned closure, pending consultation with staff, is a big blow to hopes that vehicle clubs in cities could cut the need for private vehicle ownership. However, some experts have noted that Zipcar’s departure need not mean the demise for the concept in Britain.

The Potential of Shared Mobility

Shared vehicle use is prized by many urbanists and environmentalists as a way of mitigating the ills 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 require large carbon emissions to produce, and people without a vehicle tend to use active travel and take public transport more. That benefits cities – reducing congestion and pollution – and improves public health through more exercise.

What Went Wrong?

The company started in 2000 before being bought 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 grew to £11.7m in 2024 gave little incentive to continue.

The parent company stated the closure is part of a “broader transformation across our international business, where we are taking targeted actions to streamline operations, improve returns”.

Zipcar’s most recent accounts said revenues had fallen as drivers took less frequent, shorter trips. “This trend reflect the ongoing impact of the cost-of-living crisis, which continues to suppress demand for discretionary spending,” it said.

London's Unique Hurdles

Yet, industry observers noted that London has particular issues that made it much harder for the sector to succeed.

• Patchwork Policies: Across 33 boroughs, car-club operators face a patchwork of different procedures and costs that complicate operations.
• New Costs: The closure comes as electric cars becoming liable for London’s congestion charge, adding unavoidable costs.
• Unequal Parking Fees: Residents in some boroughs pay as little as £63 for a year’s electric car parking permit. A floating car club would pay over £1,100 annually, creating a significant barrier.

“We should literally be charged one-twentieth of a resident’s permit,” said Robert Schopen of Co Wheels. “We’re taking cars off the street. We introduce cleaner models 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 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 lags behind at 0.7.

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

Devanathan said authorities should start to treat car sharing as a form of public transport, and integrate it with train and bus stations. He added that a potential operator was looking at 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. Company-Owned Fleets: Which own or lease their own cars. This includes Denmark’s GreenMobility, France’s Free2Move, and Germany’s Miles Mobility.
2. Person-to-Person Rentals: Which allow users to hire out their own vehicles via an app – similar to 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 head, 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 some time for other players to build momentum. In the meantime, 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 scramble to find a way. The delivery problem caused by Zipcar’s exit highlights the broader impact of its departure on vital services and the prospects of shared mobility in the UK.