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The community kitchen in Rotherhithe has distributed a large number of prepared dishes weekly for the past two years to pensioners and vulnerable locals in southeast London. However, their operations face major disruption by the news that they will lose access to New Year’s Day.

The group depended on Zipcar, the app-based vehicle rental service that customers to access its cars via smartphone. The company sent shockwaves through the capital when it said it would shut down its UK operations from 1 January.

It will mean many volunteers will be unable to collect food from a major food charity, that collects excess produce from supermarkets, cafes and restaurants. Other options are less convenient, costlier, or lack the same flexible hours.

“It’s going to be affected massively,” stated 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.”

“Faced with this reality, everyone is concerned and thinking: ‘How will we continue?’”

A Significant Setback for Urban Car-Sharing

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 easy use to vehicles, without the hassle and cost of ownership. The vast majority of those members were likely with Zipcar, which had a near-monopoly position in the city.

The planned closure, pending consultation with staff, is a big blow to the vision that car sharing in urban areas could reduce the need for private vehicle ownership. However, some analysts have noted that Zipcar’s exit need not spell the end for the idea in Britain.

The Potential of Car Sharing

Shared vehicle use is prized by many urbanists and environmentalists as a way of reducing the ills associated with 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 without a vehicle tend to walk, cycle and take public transport more. That benefits cities – reducing congestion and pollution – and boosts people’s health through increased activity.

Understanding the Decline

Zipcar was founded in 2000 before being bought by the US car rental group Avis Budget in 2013. Zipcar’s UK income barely registered compared with its parent company's total earnings, and a deficit that reached £11.7m in 2024 gave little incentive to continue.

The parent company stated the closure is part of a “broader transformation across our global operations, where we are taking deliberate steps to simplify processes, improve returns”.

Its latest financial reports said revenues had declined as drivers took less frequent, shorter trips. “These changes reflect the ongoing impact of the economic squeeze, which continues to suppress demand for non-essential services,” it said.

London's Unique Challenges

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

• Inconsistent Rules: Across 33 boroughs, car-club operators face a mosaic of varying processes and costs that made it harder.
• New Costs: The closure comes as electric cars becoming liable for 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 floating car club would pay over £1,100 per year, creating a major disincentive.

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

Lessons from Abroad

Other European countries offer models 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 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.

“The evidence shows is that shared mobility around the world, particularly on the continent, is growing,” commented Bharath Devanathan of Invers.

He suggested 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

Other players can be split into two models:

1. Fleet Operators: Which maintain their own cars. This includes 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.

One company, 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. “There is a void that is going to need to be filled, because London still needs to move,” Brimmer said.

However, it could take some time for other players to establish themselves. 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 solution. The delivery problem caused by Zipcar’s exit underscores the broader impact of its departure on vital services and the future of car-sharing in the UK.