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The community kitchen in Rotherhithe has provided a large number of prepared dishes each week for two years to pensioners and vulnerable locals in southeast London. However, the group's plans have been thrown into disarray by the announcement that they will lose cars and vans on New Year’s Day.

The group had relied on Zipcar, the car-sharing company that allowed its fleet of vehicles via smartphone. The company caused shock across London when it declared it would shut down its UK operations from 1 January.

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

“The impact will be massively,” stated Vimal Pandya, the community kitchen’s founder. “My team and I are concerned by the operational hurdle we will face. A lot of people like ours are going to struggle.”

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

A Major Blow for City Vehicle Clubs

These volunteers are part of more than half a million people in London who were car club members, who could be left without easy use to vehicles, without the hassle and cost of ownership. Most of those people were likely 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 owning a car. Yet, some analysts have noted that Zipcar’s exit need not mean the demise for the idea in Britain.

The Promise of Car Sharing

Car sharing is prized by city planners and environmentalists as a way of mitigating the problems associated with vehicle ownership. Most cars sit as two-tonne dead weights on the side of the road for 95% of the time, using up space. They also involve large carbon emissions to produce, and people who do not own cars tend to walk, cycle and take transit more. That benefits cities – easing congestion and pollution – and improves people’s health through more exercise.

What Went Wrong?

Zipcar was founded in 2000 before being bought by the US car rental group Avis Budget in 2013. Zipcar’s UK income barely registered compared with its owner's overall annual revenue, 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 global operations, where we are taking targeted actions to simplify processes, improve returns”.

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

The Capital's Specific Hurdles

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

• Patchwork Policies: With numerous local councils, car-club operators face a mosaic of varying processes 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 annual electric car parking permit. A floating car club would pay over £1,100 per year, creating a significant barrier.

“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.”

Lessons from Abroad

Other European countries offer examples for London to follow. Germany introduced national car-sharing legislation 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 trails 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 mass transit, and link it with train and bus stations. He added that one unnamed client was already seriously considering entering the London market: “Operators will fill this gap.”

The Future Landscape

Other players can roughly be divided 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 – a kind of Airbnb for cars. Examples 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 some time for other players to establish themselves. For now, more people may feel forced to buy cars, and many across London will be left without access.

For the volunteers in Rotherhithe, the coming weeks will be a rush to find a solution. The logistical challenge caused by Zipcar’s exit underscores the wider implications of its departure on community groups and the prospects of shared mobility in the UK.