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The volunteer food project in Rotherhithe has been delivering a large number of prepared dishes weekly for the past two years to elderly residents and vulnerable locals in south London. Yet, the group's plans face major disruption by the news that they will not have cars and vans on New Year’s Day.

This organization had relied on Zipcar, the app-based vehicle rental service that allowed its cars from the street. It sent shockwaves through the capital when it declared it would cease its UK operations from 1 January.

This means many volunteers cannot pick up supplies from the Felix Project, which gathers surplus food from supermarkets, cafes and restaurants. Obvious alternatives 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 logistical challenge we will face. A lot of people like ours are going to struggle.”

“Knowing the reality, everyone is concerned and thinking: ‘How will we continue?’”

A Major Blow for Urban Car-Sharing

The community kitchen’s drivers are part of over 500,000 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 people were probably with Zipcar, which had a near-monopoly position in the city.

The planned closure, subject to 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 also suggested that Zipcar’s departure need not spell the end for the concept in Britain.

The Potential of Shared Mobility

Car sharing is valued by many urbanists and green advocates as a way of mitigating the ills associated with vehicle ownership. Most cars sit as two-tonne dead weights on the side of the road for the vast majority 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 – easing congestion and pollution – and improves people’s health through increased activity.

What Went Wrong?

Zipcar was founded 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 deficit that reached £11.7m in 2024 gave little incentive to continue.

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

Its latest financial reports noted revenues had declined as drivers took fewer and shorter trips. “These changes reflect the ongoing impact of the cost-of-living crisis, which continues to suppress 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 company and its rivals to succeed.

• Inconsistent Rules: Across 33 boroughs, car-club operators face a mosaic of varying processes and costs that complicate operations.
• New Costs: The closure comes as electric cars becoming liable for 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 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 introduce cleaner models in their place.”

Lessons from Abroad

Other European countries offer models for London to follow. Germany introduced national shared mobility laws in 2017, providing a nationwide framework 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 lags behind at 0.7.

“What we see is that car sharing around the world, especially in Europe, is growing,” said Bharath Devanathan of Invers.

He suggested authorities should start to view vehicle clubs as a form of public transport, and integrate it with train and bus stations. He added that one unnamed client was already seriously considering entering the London market: “Operators will fill this gap.”

The Future Landscape

The company’s competitors can roughly be divided 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. 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 P2P service, is already weighing up 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.

However, it could take some time for other players to establish themselves. For now, more people may feel forced to buy cars, and many 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 broader impact of its departure on vital services and the prospects of car-sharing in the UK.