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The community kitchen in Rotherhithe has provided a large number of cooked meals each week for two years to elderly residents and needy locals in south London. However, their operations have been thrown into disarray by the news that they will not have use of New Year’s Day.

The group had relied on Zipcar, the car-sharing company that allowed its cars via smartphone. It caused shock across London when it declared it would shut down its UK operations from 1 January.

It will mean many helpers will be unable to collect food from a major food charity, which gathers excess produce from grocery stores, cafes and restaurants. Other options are further away, costlier, or lack the same convenient access.

“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 are going to struggle.”

“Faced with this reality, they are all worried and thinking: ‘How will we continue?’”

A Major Blow for Urban Car-Sharing

These volunteers are among more than half a million people in London registered as car club members, now potentially left without easy use to vehicles, avoiding the burden and cost of ownership. Most of those members were likely with Zipcar, which held a dominant position in the city.

This shutdown, subject to consultation with staff, is a serious setback to hopes that car sharing in cities could cut the need for private vehicle ownership. However, some analysts also suggested that Zipcar’s departure need not mean the demise for the concept in Britain.

The Potential of Shared Mobility

Shared vehicle use is valued by many urbanists and environmentalists as a way of reducing the ills linked to vehicle ownership. Most cars sit as two-tonne dead weights 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 walk, cycle and take public transport more. That helps urban areas – easing congestion and pollution – and boosts people’s health through increased activity.

What Went Wrong?

Zipcar was founded in 2000 before its acquisition by the American rental giant Avis Budget in 2013. Zipcar’s UK income barely registered compared with its parent company's total earnings, and a loss 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 targeted actions to streamline operations, improve returns”.

Zipcar’s most recent accounts said revenues had fallen as drivers took less frequent, shorter trips. “These changes reflect the ongoing impact 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 company and its rivals to succeed.

• Patchwork Policies: Across 33 boroughs, car-club operators face a patchwork of varying processes and costs that made it harder.
• New Costs: The closure comes as electric cars start paying London’s congestion charge, adding extra expenses.
• Unequal Parking Fees: Residents in some boroughs pay as little as £63 for a annual electric car parking permit. A similar shared vehicle would pay over £1,100 annually, creating a major disincentive.

“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

Nations in Europe offer examples for London to follow. Germany introduced national car-sharing legislation in 2017, providing a nationwide framework for parking, subsidies and exemptions. 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.

“What we see is that shared mobility around the world, particularly on the continent, is expanding,” said Bharath Devanathan of Invers.

He suggested 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: “There will be fill this gap.”

What Comes Next?

Other players can roughly be divided into two models:

1. Company-Owned Fleets: 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 – a kind of 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 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.

Yet, it could take some time for other players to build momentum. In the meantime, more people may choose to buy cars, and others across London will be without a convenient option.

For Rotherhithe community kitchen, the coming weeks 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 car-sharing in the UK.