🔗 Share this article

A volunteer food project in Rotherhithe has been delivering hundreds of prepared dishes weekly for the past two years to pensioners and needy locals in southeast London. However, the group's plans have been thrown into disarray by the announcement that they will lose access to New Year’s Day.

The group had relied on Zipcar, the car-sharing company that customers to access its fleet of vehicles from the street. It caused shock across London when it said it would shut down its UK operations from 1 January.

This means many volunteers will be unable to pick up supplies from the Felix Project, that collects surplus food from supermarkets, cafes and restaurants. Other options are less convenient, more expensive, or lack the same flexible hours.

“It’s going to be affected massively,” said Vimal Pandya, the project'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

The community kitchen’s drivers are among 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. The vast majority of those people were likely with Zipcar, which held a dominant position in the city.

The planned closure, subject to consultation with employees, is a serious setback to hopes that vehicle clubs in cities could cut the need for private vehicle ownership. Yet, some analysts also suggested that Zipcar’s departure need not mean the demise for the concept in Britain.

The Potential of Car Sharing

Shared vehicle use is valued by many urbanists and environmentalists as a way of mitigating the problems 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, using up space. They also require large carbon emissions to produce, and people without a vehicle tend to walk, cycle and take transit more. That benefits cities – easing congestion and pollution – and improves people’s health through increased activity.

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 owner's overall annual revenue, 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, improve returns”.

Its latest financial reports noted revenues had declined as drivers took fewer and shorter trips. “This trend reflect the continuing effect of the economic squeeze, which continues to suppress demand for non-essential services,” it said.

London's Unique Challenges

However, several experts noted that London has specific problems that made it difficult for the sector to succeed.

• Patchwork Policies: With numerous local councils, car-club operators face a mosaic of varying processes and costs that complicate operations.
• Congestion Charge: The closure coincides with electric cars start paying London’s congestion charge, adding extra expenses.
• Parking Permit Disparity: Residents in some boroughs pay as little as £63 for a year’s electric car parking permit. A similar shared vehicle would pay over £1,100 per year, creating a significant barrier.

“We should literally be charged one-twentieth of a resident’s permit,” 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 introduced national car-sharing legislation in 2017, providing a nationwide framework for parking, support and waivers. Now, the country has several shared cars per 10,000 people, while France has 2.1 and Belgium has 6.3. The UK lags behind at 0.7.

“What we see is that car sharing around the world, especially in Europe, is expanding,” commented Bharath Devanathan of Invers.

Devanathan said authorities should start to view vehicle clubs as a form of mass transit, and link it with train and bus stations. He added that a potential operator was already seriously considering entering the London market: “Operators will fill this gap.”

The Future Landscape

The company’s competitors can be split into two models:

1. Fleet Operators: 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 – a kind of Airbnb for cars. Players include Britain’s Hiyacar and the US’s Getaround and Turo.

One company, 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. “There is a void 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 establish themselves. For now, more people may feel forced to buy cars, and many across London will be without a convenient option.

For Rotherhithe community kitchen, the coming weeks will be a scramble to find a solution. The delivery problem caused by Zipcar’s exit highlights the broader impact of its departure on vital services and the prospects of car-sharing in the UK.