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The community kitchen in Rotherhithe has provided hundreds of prepared dishes each week for the past two years to elderly residents and vulnerable locals in southeast London. However, the group's plans have been thrown into disarray by the announcement that they will not have use of New Year’s Day.

The group depended on Zipcar, the car-sharing company that allowed its fleet of vehicles from the street. The company caused shock through the capital when it said it would cease its UK business from 1 January.

It will mean many volunteers cannot collect food from a major food charity, that collects surplus food from supermarkets, cafes and restaurants. Other options are less convenient, costlier, or lack the same convenient access.

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

“Knowing the reality, everyone is concerned 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 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.

The planned closure, pending consultation with employees, is a big blow to the vision that vehicle clubs in urban areas could reduce the need for owning a car. However, some analysts also suggested that Zipcar’s departure need not mean the demise for the concept in Britain.

The Promise of Shared Mobility

Car sharing is valued by city planners and green advocates as a way of reducing the ills associated with vehicle ownership. Typically, vehicles sit idle on the street for 95% of the time, using up space. They also involve large CO2 output to produce, and people without a vehicle tend to walk, cycle and take transit more. That benefits cities – reducing congestion and pollution – and boosts 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 barely registered compared with its owner's total earnings, and a loss that grew to £11.7m in 2024 gave no reason to continue.

Avis Budget has said 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 declined as drivers took fewer and shorter trips. “This trend reflect the continuing effect of the cost-of-living crisis, which is dampening demand for non-essential services,” it said.

London's Unique Hurdles

However, several experts noted that London has specific problems 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 varying processes and prices that complicate operations.
• New Costs: The closure comes as electric cars start paying London’s congestion charge, adding extra expenses.
• Unequal Parking Fees: Locals in some boroughs pay as little as £63 for a year’s electric car parking permit. A floating car club would pay over £1,100 per year, creating a significant barrier.

“Our fees should be one-twentieth of a private parking cost,” argued Robert Schopen of Co Wheels. “We remove vehicles. We introduce cleaner models in their place.”

A European Example

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 several shared cars per 10,000 people, while France has 2.1 and Belgium has 6.3. The UK lags behind at 0.7.

“The evidence shows is that car sharing around the world, especially in Europe, is expanding,” commented Bharath Devanathan of Invers.

He suggested authorities should start to view vehicle clubs as a form of public transport, and link it with train and bus stations. He added that a potential operator was looking at entering the London market: “There will be fill this gap.”

The Future Landscape

Other players can roughly be divided into two camps:

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 rent out their own vehicles via an app – similar to Airbnb for cars. Examples Britain’s Hiyacar and the US’s Getaround and Turo.

One company, a US-headquartered peer-to-peer platform, 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 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 next month will be a scramble to find a way. The logistical challenge caused by Zipcar’s exit highlights the broader impact of its departure on vital services and the future of shared mobility in the UK.