A volunteer food project in Rotherhithe has distributed hundreds of prepared dishes weekly for two years to elderly residents and vulnerable 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.
The group depended on Zipcar, the car-sharing company that customers to access its cars from the street. The company caused shock across London when it declared it would cease 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 supermarkets, cafes and restaurants. Other options 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. A lot of people like ours are going to struggle.”
“Knowing the reality, everyone is concerned and thinking: ‘How are we going to carry on?”
A Major Blow for Urban Car-Sharing
These volunteers are part of 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 probably with Zipcar, which had a near-monopoly position in the city.
The planned closure, pending consultation with employees, is a serious setback to hopes that vehicle clubs in cities could reduce the need for owning a car. However, some experts also suggested that Zipcar’s exit need not spell the end for the idea in Britain.
The Potential of Shared Mobility
Car sharing is prized by city planners and green advocates as a way of reducing the ills associated with vehicle ownership. Most cars sit idle on the street for the vast majority of the time, occupying parking. They also require large carbon emissions to produce, and people without a vehicle tend to use active travel and take transit more. That helps urban areas – reducing congestion and pollution – and boosts public health through increased activity.
Understanding the Decline
The company started in 2000 before being bought by the US car rental group Avis Budget in 2013. Zipcar’s UK income were minimal compared with its parent company's total earnings, 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 international business, where we are taking targeted actions to simplify processes, enhance profitability”.
Its latest financial reports noted revenues had fallen as drivers took less frequent, shorter trips. “This trend reflect the ongoing impact of the economic squeeze, which continues to suppress demand for non-essential services,” it said.
London's Unique Hurdles
Yet, industry observers noted that London has specific problems that made it much harder for the company and its rivals to succeed.
- Patchwork Policies: With numerous local councils, car-club operators face a patchwork of different procedures and prices that complicate operations.
- New Costs: The closure coincides with electric cars start paying London’s congestion charge, adding extra expenses.
- Parking Permit Disparity: Residents in some boroughs pay as little as £63 for a year’s electric car parking permit. A similar shared vehicle would pay over £1,100 per year, creating a major disincentive.
“We should literally be charged one-twentieth of a resident’s permit,” argued Robert Schopen of Co Wheels. “We remove vehicles. We introduce cleaner models in their place.”
Lessons from Abroad
Nations in Europe offer models for London to follow. Germany introduced national shared mobility laws in 2017, providing a nationwide framework for parking, subsidies and waivers. Now, the country has several shared cars per 10,000 people, while France has 2.1 and Belgium has 6.3. The UK lags behind at 0.7.
“The evidence shows is that shared mobility around the world, especially in Europe, is growing,” said Bharath Devanathan of Invers.
Devanathan said authorities should start to view vehicle clubs as a form of mass transit, 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
The company’s competitors can be split into two camps:
- Fleet Operators: Which own or lease their own cars. Examples Denmark’s GreenMobility, France’s Free2Move, and Germany’s Miles Mobility.
- Person-to-Person Rentals: Which allow users to hire 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 assessing 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.
However, it could take a while for other players to build momentum. In the meantime, more people may choose to buy cars, and others across London will be without a convenient option.
For Rotherhithe community kitchen, the coming weeks will be a scramble to find a way. The delivery problem caused by Zipcar’s exit highlights the wider implications of its departure on vital services and the future of car-sharing in the UK.
