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The volunteer food project in Rotherhithe has distributed a large number of prepared dishes weekly for two years to pensioners and vulnerable locals in southeast 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 had relied on Zipcar, the car-sharing company that customers to access its cars from the street. It sent shockwaves through the capital when it said it would shut down its UK operations from 1 January.

This means many helpers cannot collect food from the Felix Project, which gathers excess produce from supermarkets, cafes and restaurants. Other options are further away, more expensive, or lack 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. A lot of people like ours will face difficulties.”

“Faced with this reality, everyone is concerned and thinking: ‘How are we going to carry on?”

A Significant Setback for City Vehicle Clubs

The community kitchen’s drivers are among over 500,000 people in London registered as car club members, now potentially left without convenient access to vehicles, without the hassle and cost of ownership. Most of those people were probably with Zipcar, which held a dominant position in the city.

The planned closure, subject to consultation with employees, is a big blow to hopes that car sharing in urban areas could reduce the need for private vehicle ownership. However, some experts have noted that Zipcar’s exit need not mean the demise for the idea in Britain.

The Promise of Shared Mobility

Car sharing is valued by many urbanists and environmentalists as a way of reducing the ills associated with vehicle ownership. Typically, vehicles sit as two-tonne dead weights on the street for 95% of the time, occupying parking. They also involve large carbon emissions to produce, and people who do not own cars tend to walk, cycle and take public transport more. That benefits cities – easing congestion and pollution – and improves people’s health through more exercise.

What Went Wrong?

The company started in 2000 before its acquisition by the US car rental group Avis Budget in 2013. Zipcar’s UK income barely registered compared with its owner's overall annual revenue, and a deficit that reached £11.7m in 2024 gave little incentive to continue.

Avis Budget has said 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 noted revenues had declined as drivers took less frequent, shorter trips. “This trend reflect the continuing effect of the economic squeeze, which continues to suppress demand for non-essential services,” it said.

London's Unique Challenges

However, several experts noted that London has specific problems that made it difficult for the sector to succeed.

• Inconsistent Rules: With numerous local councils, car-club operators face a mosaic 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 just £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 resident’s permit,” said Robert Schopen of Co Wheels. “We’re taking cars off the street. We’re putting less polluting cars in their place.”

Lessons from Abroad

Other European countries offer models for London to follow. Germany enacted national car-sharing legislation in 2017, providing a unified system 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.

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

Devanathan said 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 looking at entering the London market: “Operators will fill this gap.”

The Future Landscape

The company’s competitors can roughly be divided 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 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.

One company, 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.

Yet, it could take some time for other players to establish themselves. In the meantime, more people may choose to buy cars, and many across London will be left without access.

For Rotherhithe community kitchen, the coming weeks will be a rush to find a way. The logistical challenge caused by Zipcar’s exit underscores the broader impact of its departure on vital services and the prospects of car-sharing in the UK.