A volunteer food project in Rotherhithe has been delivering hundreds of prepared dishes weekly for two years to pensioners and vulnerable locals in south London. However, the group's plans face major disruption by the news that they will not have access to New Year’s Day.
The group had relied on Zipcar, the car-sharing company that allowed its fleet of vehicles from the street. It sent shockwaves across London when it said it would cease its UK business from 1 January.
This means many helpers cannot collect food from the Felix Project, which gathers excess produce from grocery stores, cafes and restaurants. Other options are further away, costlier, or lack the same convenient access.
“It’s going to be affected massively,” said Vimal Pandya, the community kitchen’s founder. “My team and I are worried about the logistical challenge we will face. Many groups like ours will face difficulties.”
“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, who could be left without convenient access to vehicles, avoiding the burden and cost of ownership. Most of those people 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 vehicle clubs in cities could cut the need for private vehicle ownership. Yet, some experts have noted that Zipcar’s departure need not mean the demise for the idea in Britain.
The Potential of Car Sharing
Shared vehicle use is prized by city planners and green advocates as a way of mitigating the problems linked to 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 transit 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 its acquisition 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 loss that reached £11.7m in 2024 gave no reason to continue.
Avis Budget has said the closure is part of a “broader transformation across our global operations, where we are taking targeted actions to streamline operations, improve returns”.
Its latest financial reports noted revenues had fallen as drivers took fewer and shorter trips. “These changes reflect the ongoing impact of the economic squeeze, which is dampening demand for non-essential services,” it said.
The Capital's Specific Challenges
However, 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 mosaic of varying processes and prices that complicate operations.
- New Costs: The closure coincides with 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 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 unified system for parking, support 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.
“The evidence shows is that shared mobility around the world, particularly on the continent, is expanding,” commented Bharath Devanathan of Invers.
He suggested authorities should start to view vehicle clubs as a form of mass transit, and integrate it with train and bus stations. He added that a potential operator was already seriously considering entering the London market: “Operators will fill this gap.”
What Comes Next?
The company’s competitors can roughly be divided into two models:
- Company-Owned Fleets: Which own or lease their own cars. This includes Denmark’s GreenMobility, France’s Free2Move, and Germany’s Miles Mobility.
- 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.
One company, a US-headquartered P2P service, is assessing the UK gap. Rory Brimmer, its UK head, 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 some time for other players to build momentum. For now, more people may choose to buy cars, and many across London will be without a convenient option.
For the volunteers in Rotherhithe, the next month will be a scramble to find a way. The logistical challenge caused by Zipcar’s exit underscores the broader impact of its departure on vital services and the prospects of shared mobility in the UK.
