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The volunteer food project in Rotherhithe has provided hundreds of prepared dishes each week for two years to elderly residents 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 had relied on Zipcar, the car-sharing company that allowed its cars from the street. The company sent shockwaves through the capital when it declared it would shut down its UK operations from 1 January.

This means many volunteers cannot collect food from the Felix Project, that collects excess produce from supermarkets, cafes and restaurants. Other options are further away, costlier, or do not offer the same convenient access.

“The impact will be massively,” stated Vimal Pandya, the project's founder. “My team and I are worried about the operational hurdle we will face. A lot of people like ours will face difficulties.”

“Knowing the reality, they are all worried and thinking: ‘How will we continue?’”

A Significant Setback 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. Most of those people were likely with Zipcar, which had a near-monopoly position in the city.

This shutdown, pending consultation with employees, is a big blow to the vision that vehicle clubs in cities could reduce the need for private vehicle ownership. Yet, some analysts have noted that Zipcar’s departure need not mean the demise for the concept in Britain.

The Promise of Shared Mobility

Car sharing is prized by many urbanists and environmentalists as a way of reducing the ills linked to vehicle ownership. Typically, vehicles sit as two-tonne dead weights on the side of the road for 95% of the time, using up space. They also require large carbon emissions to produce, and people who do not own cars tend to use active travel and take public transport more. That benefits cities – easing congestion and pollution – and boosts public health through increased activity.

What Went Wrong?

The company started in 2000 before being bought by the US car rental group Avis Budget in 2013. Zipcar’s UK income barely registered compared with its owner's total earnings, 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 “wider restructuring across our global operations, where we are taking deliberate steps to simplify processes, enhance profitability”.

Its latest financial reports noted revenues had fallen as drivers took less frequent, shorter trips. “These changes reflect the continuing effect of the cost-of-living crisis, which is dampening demand for discretionary spending,” it said.

London's Unique Hurdles

However, industry observers noted that London has particular issues that made it difficult for the sector to succeed.

• Inconsistent Rules: With numerous local councils, car-club operators face a patchwork of varying processes and costs that complicate operations.
• New Costs: The closure comes as 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 annual electric car parking permit. A similar shared vehicle would pay over £1,100 per year, creating a significant barrier.

“Our fees should be one-twentieth of a private parking cost,” said Robert Schopen of Co Wheels. “We remove vehicles. We introduce cleaner models in their place.”

Lessons from Abroad

Nations in Europe offer examples for London to follow. Germany introduced national car-sharing legislation in 2017, providing a unified system for parking, support 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.

“What we see is that car sharing around the world, particularly on the continent, is growing,” said Bharath Devanathan of Invers.

He suggested authorities should start to treat car sharing as a form of public transport, and link 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.”

What Comes Next?

Other players can be split into two models:

1. Company-Owned Fleets: Which own or lease their own cars. Examples Denmark’s GreenMobility, France’s Free2Move, and Germany’s Miles Mobility.
2. Peer-to-Peer Services: 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.

Turo, a US-headquartered peer-to-peer platform, 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.

Yet, it could take a while 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 coming weeks will be a rush to find a solution. The logistical challenge caused by Zipcar’s exit highlights the wider implications of its departure on vital services and the prospects of shared mobility in the UK.