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The volunteer food project in Rotherhithe has provided hundreds of prepared dishes each week for the past two years to pensioners and needy locals in south London. Yet, their operations have been thrown into disarray by the announcement that they will not have cars and vans on New Year’s Day.

The group had relied on Zipcar, the app-based vehicle rental service that allowed its cars via smartphone. The company 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 a major food charity, that collects surplus food from supermarkets, 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 project's founder. “Personally me and my team are concerned by the operational hurdle we will face. Many groups like ours are going to struggle.”

“Knowing the reality, they are all worried and thinking: ‘How are we going to carry on?”

A Major Blow for City Vehicle Clubs

These volunteers are among more than half a million 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 likely with Zipcar, which had a near-monopoly position in the city.

This shutdown, subject to consultation with employees, is a big blow to hopes that vehicle clubs in urban areas could reduce the need for owning a car. Yet, some experts also suggested that Zipcar’s departure need not mean the demise for the concept in Britain.

The Promise of Car Sharing

Shared vehicle use is prized by city planners and environmentalists as a way of reducing the problems linked to vehicle ownership. Most cars sit idle on the street for the vast majority of the time, occupying parking. They also require large CO2 output to produce, and people without a vehicle tend to walk, cycle and take public transport more. That helps urban areas – reducing congestion and pollution – and boosts public health through more exercise.

What Went Wrong?

Zipcar was founded in 2000 before being bought by the American rental giant Avis Budget in 2013. Zipcar’s UK income were minimal compared with its parent company's overall annual revenue, and a deficit that grew to £11.7m in 2024 gave little incentive to continue.

The parent company stated the closure is part of a “wider restructuring across our global operations, where we are taking targeted actions to simplify processes, enhance profitability”.

Zipcar’s most recent accounts said revenues had fallen as drivers took less frequent, shorter trips. “These changes reflect the ongoing impact of the cost-of-living crisis, which continues to suppress demand for non-essential services,” it said.

The Capital's Specific Hurdles

Yet, several experts noted that London has specific problems that made it difficult for the sector 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 unavoidable costs.
• 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 significant barrier.

“We should literally be charged one-twentieth of a resident’s permit,” argued Robert Schopen of Co Wheels. “We remove vehicles. We’re putting less polluting cars in their place.”

Lessons from Abroad

Nations in Europe offer models for London to follow. Germany enacted national shared mobility laws in 2017, providing a nationwide framework for parking, subsidies 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.

“The evidence shows is that car sharing around the world, especially in Europe, is expanding,” 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 one unnamed client was looking at entering the London market: “There will be fill this gap.”

The Future Landscape

The company’s competitors can be split into two camps:

1. Company-Owned Fleets: Which maintain their own cars. Examples 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 already weighing up 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.

Yet, it could take some time for other players to build momentum. In the meantime, more people may feel forced 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 solution. The logistical challenge caused by Zipcar’s exit underscores the broader impact of its departure on community groups and the prospects of shared mobility in the UK.