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The community kitchen in Rotherhithe has distributed a large number of cooked meals each week for two years to pensioners and needy locals in south London. However, the group's plans face major disruption by the news that they will lose access to New Year’s Day.

This organization had relied on Zipcar, the car-sharing company that allowed its fleet of vehicles via smartphone. The company caused shock across London when it declared it would shut down its UK operations from 1 January.

This means many helpers cannot collect food from a major food charity, which gathers surplus food from supermarkets, cafes and restaurants. Other options are less convenient, costlier, or lack the same flexible hours.

“The impact will be massively,” stated Vimal Pandya, the project's founder. “My team and I are concerned by the logistical challenge we will face. Many groups like ours will face difficulties.”

“Knowing the reality, everyone is concerned and thinking: ‘How are we going to carry on?”

A Major Blow for Urban Car-Sharing

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, 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, subject to consultation with staff, is a big blow to the vision that car sharing in urban areas could cut the need for owning a car. However, some experts have noted that Zipcar’s exit need not mean the demise for the concept in Britain.

The Promise of Shared Mobility

Shared vehicle use is prized by city planners and environmentalists as a way of reducing the ills associated with vehicle ownership. Typically, vehicles sit idle 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 who do not own cars tend to walk, cycle and take transit more. That benefits cities – easing congestion and pollution – and improves people’s health through more exercise.

Understanding the Decline

The company started in 2000 before its acquisition by the American rental giant Avis Budget in 2013. Zipcar’s UK income were minimal compared with its owner's overall annual revenue, and a loss 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 streamline operations, improve returns”.

Its latest financial reports noted revenues had declined as drivers took less frequent, shorter trips. “This trend reflect the continuing effect of the cost-of-living crisis, which continues to suppress demand for discretionary spending,” it said.

London's Unique Hurdles

However, several experts noted that London has specific problems that made it much harder for the sector 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 becoming liable for London’s congestion charge, adding extra expenses.
• Unequal Parking Fees: Residents in some boroughs pay just £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 private parking cost,” 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 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.

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

He suggested authorities should start to treat car sharing as a form of mass transit, and integrate it with train and bus stations. He added that a potential operator 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. 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 hire out their own vehicles via an app – similar to Airbnb for cars. Players include 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 “significant chance” 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 choose 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 way. 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.