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A community kitchen in Rotherhithe has provided a large number of prepared dishes each week for two years to elderly residents and vulnerable locals in southeast London. However, the group's plans face major disruption by the news that they will lose use of New Year’s Day.

This organization depended on Zipcar, the car-sharing company that allowed its fleet of vehicles from the street. It sent shockwaves across London when it declared it would shut down its UK business from 1 January.

This means many helpers will be unable to pick up supplies from a major food charity, which gathers surplus food from grocery stores, 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 worried about the logistical challenge we will face. Many groups like ours will face difficulties.”

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

A Significant Setback for City Vehicle Clubs

The community kitchen’s drivers are among over 500,000 people in London who were car club members, who could be 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, subject to consultation with employees, is a serious setback to the vision that vehicle clubs in urban areas could cut the need for private vehicle ownership. However, some experts have noted that Zipcar’s exit need not spell the end for the idea in Britain.

The Promise of Car Sharing

Shared vehicle use is valued by many urbanists and green advocates as a way of reducing the ills associated with vehicle ownership. Typically, vehicles sit as two-tonne dead weights on the side of the road for the vast majority of the time, occupying parking. 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 improves public health through more exercise.

Understanding the Decline

Zipcar was founded in 2000 before its acquisition by the US car rental group Avis Budget in 2013. Zipcar’s UK income were minimal compared with its owner's overall annual revenue, and a deficit that grew to £11.7m in 2024 gave no reason to continue.

The parent company stated the closure is part of a “broader transformation across our international business, where we are taking deliberate steps to simplify processes, enhance profitability”.

Zipcar’s most recent accounts said 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 non-essential services,” it said.

London's Unique Challenges

Yet, industry observers noted that London has specific problems that made it difficult for the sector to succeed.

• Inconsistent Rules: Across 33 boroughs, car-club operators face a mosaic of varying processes and prices that made it harder.
• 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 as little as £63 for a year’s electric car parking permit. A similar shared vehicle would pay over £1,100 annually, creating a significant barrier.

“We should literally be charged one-twentieth of a resident’s permit,” argued Robert Schopen of Co Wheels. “We remove vehicles. We introduce cleaner models in their place.”

Lessons from Abroad

Other European countries offer examples for London to follow. Germany enacted 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.

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

He suggested authorities should start to treat car sharing as a form of public transport, and integrate it with train and bus stations. He added that one unnamed client was looking at entering the London market: “There will be fill this gap.”

What Comes Next?

Other players can be split into two models:

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 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 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. “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 build momentum. In the meantime, more people may feel forced to buy cars, and many across London will be left without access.

For Rotherhithe community kitchen, the next month will be a rush to find a solution. The delivery problem caused by Zipcar’s exit underscores the wider implications of its departure on vital services and the future of car-sharing in the UK.