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The volunteer food project in Rotherhithe has provided a large number of prepared dishes weekly for the past two years to pensioners and vulnerable locals in south London. Yet, their operations face major disruption 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. It caused shock through the capital when it said it would cease its UK business from 1 January.

This means many helpers will be unable to pick up supplies from a major food charity, that collects excess produce from supermarkets, cafes and restaurants. Obvious alternatives are further away, costlier, or do not offer the same convenient access.

“It’s going to be affected massively,” said Vimal Pandya, the community kitchen’s founder. “Personally me and my team 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 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 easy use to vehicles, avoiding the burden and cost of ownership. The vast majority 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 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 departure need not mean the demise for the idea in Britain.

The Promise of Shared Mobility

Car sharing is prized by city planners and environmentalists as a way of mitigating the problems linked to vehicle ownership. Most cars sit idle on the side of the road for 95% of the time, using up space. They also require large CO2 output to produce, and people who do not own cars tend to use active travel and take transit more. That benefits cities – reducing congestion and pollution – and improves people’s health through increased activity.

What Went Wrong?

The company started in 2000 before its acquisition by the US car rental group Avis Budget in 2013. Zipcar’s UK income were minimal compared with its parent company's total earnings, and a deficit that reached £11.7m in 2024 gave little incentive 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. “These changes reflect the continuing effect of the economic squeeze, which is dampening demand for discretionary spending,” it said.

London's Unique Challenges

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

• Patchwork Policies: With numerous local councils, car-club operators face a mosaic of different procedures and prices that complicate operations.
• Congestion Charge: The closure coincides with electric cars becoming liable for London’s congestion charge, adding extra expenses.
• 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 significant barrier.

“Our fees should be one-twentieth of a private parking cost,” argued Robert Schopen of Co Wheels. “We’re taking cars off the street. We’re putting less polluting cars 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 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.

“What we see is that car sharing around the world, especially in Europe, is expanding,” 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: “There will be fill this gap.”

The Future Landscape

Other players 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.

Turo, a US-headquartered peer-to-peer platform, is assessing the UK gap. Rory Brimmer, its UK head, 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.

Yet, it could take some time for other players to establish themselves. 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 next month will be a scramble to find a way. The logistical challenge caused by Zipcar’s exit underscores the broader impact of its departure on community groups and the future of car-sharing in the UK.