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The volunteer food project in Rotherhithe has provided a large number of prepared dishes each week for the past two years to pensioners and needy locals in southeast London. However, their operations face major disruption by the news that they will lose use of New Year’s Day.

This organization had relied on Zipcar, the app-based vehicle rental service that customers to access its cars via smartphone. The company caused shock across London when it declared it would shut down its UK business from 1 January.

This means many helpers will be unable to collect food from the Felix Project, that collects surplus food from grocery stores, cafes and restaurants. Obvious alternatives are further away, more expensive, or do not offer the same flexible hours.

“It’s going to be affected massively,” said Vimal Pandya, the project's founder. “Personally me and my team are concerned by the logistical challenge we will face. A lot of people like ours are going to struggle.”

“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. Most of those people were probably with Zipcar, which had a near-monopoly position in the city.

This shutdown, subject to consultation with employees, is a big blow to the vision that vehicle clubs in urban areas could cut the need for private vehicle ownership. Yet, some analysts also suggested that Zipcar’s exit need not mean the demise for the idea in Britain.

The Promise of Car Sharing

Car sharing is prized by many urbanists and environmentalists as a way of mitigating the ills 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 require 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 boosts people’s health through increased activity.

Understanding the Decline

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 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 “wider restructuring across our global operations, where we are taking deliberate steps to streamline operations, improve returns”.

Zipcar’s most recent accounts said revenues had declined as drivers took less frequent, 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 Challenges

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.
• Congestion Charge: 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 similar shared vehicle would pay over £1,100 per year, creating a major disincentive.

“Our fees should be one-twentieth of a private parking cost,” argued Robert Schopen of Co Wheels. “We’re taking cars off the street. We’re putting less polluting cars in their place.”

A European Example

Nations in Europe offer examples for London to follow. Germany enacted national car-sharing legislation in 2017, providing a unified system for parking, support 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 growing,” said Bharath Devanathan of Invers.

He suggested authorities should start to treat car sharing 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: “Operators will fill this gap.”

What Comes Next?

Other players can be split into two models:

1. Company-Owned Fleets: 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. Players include 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 head, said there was a “significant chance” 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 a while for other players to establish themselves. For now, more people may choose to buy cars, and others across London will be left without access.

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