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The volunteer food project in Rotherhithe has been delivering a large number of prepared dishes each week for two years to elderly residents and needy locals in south London. Yet, the group's plans have been thrown into disarray by the news that they will not have use of New Year’s Day.

This organization depended on Zipcar, the car-sharing company that allowed its cars from the street. The company caused shock across London when it said it would shut down its UK business from 1 January.

It will mean many volunteers will be unable to pick up supplies from the Felix Project, which gathers surplus food from supermarkets, cafes and restaurants. Obvious alternatives are less convenient, costlier, or do not offer the same flexible hours.

“It’s going to be affected massively,” said Vimal Pandya, the community kitchen’s founder. “Personally me and my team are concerned by the operational hurdle we will face. Many groups like ours will face difficulties.”

“Faced with this reality, they are all worried and thinking: ‘How are we going to carry on?”

A Significant Setback for Urban Car-Sharing

The community kitchen’s drivers are part of more than half a million people in London who were car club members, now potentially left without easy use to vehicles, without the hassle and cost of ownership. Most of those members were probably with Zipcar, which had a near-monopoly position in the city.

This shutdown, pending consultation with employees, is a big blow to hopes that car sharing in urban areas could reduce the need for owning a car. However, some analysts also suggested that Zipcar’s departure need not spell the end for the idea in Britain.

The Potential of Shared Mobility

Car sharing is valued by many urbanists and environmentalists as a way of mitigating the ills associated with vehicle ownership. Typically, vehicles sit idle on the side of the road for 95% of the time, using up space. They also involve large CO2 output to produce, and people without a vehicle tend to use active travel and take transit more. That benefits cities – reducing congestion and pollution – and improves public 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 parent company's overall annual revenue, and a loss that grew to £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 streamline operations, enhance profitability”.

Zipcar’s most recent accounts noted revenues had fallen 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 Hurdles

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

• Inconsistent Rules: With numerous local councils, car-club operators face a patchwork of different procedures and prices that complicate operations.
• Congestion Charge: The closure comes as electric cars becoming liable for London’s congestion charge, adding unavoidable costs.
• Unequal Parking Fees: Residents in some boroughs pay just £63 for a year’s electric car parking permit. A similar shared vehicle would pay over £1,100 annually, creating a significant barrier.

“Our fees should be 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

Nations in Europe offer examples for London to follow. Germany introduced national shared mobility laws in 2017, providing a unified system 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 trails at 0.7.

“The evidence shows is that shared mobility around the world, particularly on the continent, is growing,” commented Bharath Devanathan of Invers.

He suggested authorities should start to treat car sharing as a form of public transport, and link 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. This includes 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. Players include 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 head, said there was a “big opportunity” 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. For now, more people may choose to buy cars, and many across London will be without a convenient option.

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