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The volunteer food project in Rotherhithe has distributed hundreds of prepared dishes weekly for two years to elderly residents and needy locals in southeast London. Yet, their operations face major disruption by the announcement that they will not have cars and vans on New Year’s Day.

This organization had relied on Zipcar, the car-sharing company that allowed its fleet of vehicles from the street. It caused shock across London when it said it would shut down its UK business from 1 January.

This means many helpers cannot collect food from the Felix Project, which gathers surplus food from supermarkets, cafes and restaurants. Obvious alternatives are less convenient, more expensive, or lack the same convenient access.

“It’s going to be affected massively,” stated Vimal Pandya, the project'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.”

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

A Significant Setback for City Vehicle Clubs

The community kitchen’s drivers are among more than half a million people in London registered as car club members, who could be left without convenient access to vehicles, without the hassle and cost of ownership. The vast majority of those members were likely with Zipcar, which held a dominant position in the city.

The planned closure, pending consultation with employees, is a serious setback to the vision that vehicle clubs in cities could cut the need for owning a car. Yet, some experts also suggested that Zipcar’s exit need not spell the end for the idea in Britain.

The Promise of Car Sharing

Car sharing is prized by many urbanists and green advocates as a way of reducing the problems associated with vehicle ownership. Most cars sit idle on the side of the road for 95% of the time, using up space. They also involve large CO2 output 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 more exercise.

What Went Wrong?

The company started in 2000 before being bought by the US car rental group Avis Budget in 2013. Zipcar’s UK revenues were minimal compared with its parent company's overall annual revenue, and a loss 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 deliberate steps to simplify processes, improve returns”.

Its latest financial reports said revenues had declined as drivers took fewer and shorter trips. “This trend reflect the ongoing impact of the economic squeeze, which is dampening demand for discretionary spending,” it said.

The Capital's Specific Challenges

Yet, several experts noted that London has specific problems that made it difficult for the company and its rivals to succeed.

• Inconsistent Rules: With numerous local councils, car-club operators face a mosaic of different procedures and costs that complicate operations.
• Congestion Charge: The closure comes as electric cars start paying London’s congestion charge, adding unavoidable costs.
• Parking Permit Disparity: Locals in some boroughs pay just £63 for a annual electric car parking permit. A floating car club would pay over £1,100 annually, creating a significant barrier.

“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 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 5.4 shared cars per 10,000 people, while France has 2.1 and Belgium has 6.3. The UK lags behind at 0.7.

“What we see is that shared mobility around the world, especially in Europe, is growing,” commented Bharath Devanathan of Invers.

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

The Future Landscape

Other players can be split into two models:

1. Company-Owned Fleets: Which own or lease 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 – similar to Airbnb for cars. Examples Britain’s Hiyacar and the US’s Getaround and Turo.

Turo, a US-headquartered peer-to-peer platform, is already weighing up the UK gap. Rory Brimmer, its UK managing director, 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 build momentum. For now, 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 solution. The delivery problem caused by Zipcar’s exit underscores the wider implications of its departure on community groups and the prospects of car-sharing in the UK.