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A community kitchen in Rotherhithe has distributed a large number of cooked meals weekly for the past two years to elderly residents and vulnerable locals in south London. Yet, their operations have been thrown into disarray by the news that they will lose access to New Year’s Day.

This organization depended on Zipcar, the app-based vehicle rental service that allowed its cars from the street. It caused shock through the capital when it declared it would cease 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 grocery stores, cafes and restaurants. Other options are less convenient, costlier, or do not offer the same flexible hours.

“It’s going to be affected massively,” stated Vimal Pandya, the community kitchen’s founder. “My team and I are worried about the operational hurdle we will face. Many groups like ours will face difficulties.”

“Knowing the reality, they are all worried and thinking: ‘How will we continue?’”

A Major Blow 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, who could be left without convenient access to vehicles, without the hassle 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 staff, is a serious setback to the vision that vehicle clubs in cities could cut the need for private vehicle ownership. However, some analysts have noted that Zipcar’s departure need not mean the demise for the idea in Britain.

The Potential of Shared Mobility

Shared vehicle use is prized by city planners and environmentalists as a way of mitigating the problems linked to vehicle ownership. Most cars sit as two-tonne dead weights on the street for the vast majority of the time, using up space. They also involve large carbon emissions to produce, and people who do not own cars tend to use active travel and take public transport more. That benefits cities – easing congestion and pollution – and improves public health through increased activity.

What Went Wrong?

Zipcar was founded 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 loss 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 global operations, where we are taking targeted actions to simplify processes, improve returns”.

Its latest financial reports noted revenues had fallen as drivers took less frequent, shorter trips. “This trend reflect the continuing effect of the economic squeeze, which is dampening demand for non-essential services,” it said.

The Capital's Specific Challenges

Yet, industry observers 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 patchwork of varying processes and prices that complicate operations.
• New Costs: The closure comes as electric cars becoming liable for London’s congestion charge, adding extra expenses.
• Parking Permit Disparity: Residents in some boroughs pay as little as £63 for a annual electric car parking permit. A floating car club would pay over £1,100 per year, creating a major disincentive.

“Our fees should be 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 models for London to follow. Germany introduced national shared mobility laws in 2017, providing a nationwide framework for parking, subsidies 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 trails at 0.7.

“The evidence shows is that shared mobility 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 integrate it with train and bus stations. He added that one unnamed client was looking at entering the London market: “Operators will fill this gap.”

What Comes Next?

Other players can roughly be divided into two models:

1. Company-Owned Fleets: Which maintain their own cars. Examples Denmark’s GreenMobility, France’s Free2Move, and Germany’s Miles Mobility.
2. Peer-to-Peer Services: Which allow users to rent out their own vehicles via an app – similar to 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 “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 a while for other players to build momentum. For now, more people may choose 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 wider implications of its departure on community groups and the prospects of shared mobility in the UK.