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The volunteer food project in Rotherhithe has been delivering hundreds of prepared dishes each week for two years to pensioners and needy locals in southeast London. Yet, the group's plans have been thrown into disarray by the news that they will lose use of New Year’s Day.

This organization depended on Zipcar, the app-based vehicle rental service that customers to access its cars via smartphone. It caused shock across London when it said it would cease its UK business from 1 January.

It will mean many volunteers cannot collect food from the Felix Project, that collects excess produce from grocery stores, cafes and restaurants. Other options are further away, more expensive, or do not offer the same convenient access.

“It’s going to be affected massively,” stated Vimal Pandya, the community kitchen’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, they are all worried and thinking: ‘How will we continue?’”

A Major Blow for Urban Car-Sharing

The community kitchen’s drivers are among more than half a million people in London registered as car club members, now potentially left without easy use to vehicles, avoiding the burden and cost of ownership. Most of those people were probably with Zipcar, which had a near-monopoly position in the city.

This shutdown, pending consultation with staff, is a big blow to the vision that vehicle clubs in cities could reduce the need for private vehicle ownership. However, some experts have noted that Zipcar’s exit need not mean the demise for the idea in Britain.

The Potential of Shared Mobility

Car sharing is prized by many urbanists and environmentalists as a way of mitigating the problems associated with vehicle ownership. Typically, vehicles sit idle on the street for 95% of the time, occupying parking. They also require large CO2 output to produce, and people who do not own cars tend to walk, cycle and take public transport more. That benefits cities – reducing congestion and pollution – and improves public health through increased activity.

What Went Wrong?

Zipcar was founded in 2000 before being bought by the US car rental group Avis Budget in 2013. Zipcar’s UK revenues barely registered compared with its parent company's overall annual revenue, and a deficit that reached £11.7m in 2024 gave no reason to continue.

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

Zipcar’s most recent accounts noted revenues had declined as drivers took fewer and 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 Hurdles

Yet, several experts noted that London has specific problems that made it much harder for the sector to succeed.

• Patchwork Policies: With numerous local councils, car-club operators face a mosaic of different procedures and prices that complicate operations.
• New Costs: The closure coincides with electric cars becoming liable for London’s congestion charge, adding unavoidable costs.
• Unequal Parking Fees: Residents in some boroughs pay just £63 for a annual 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 private parking cost,” argued Robert Schopen of Co Wheels. “We’re taking cars off the street. We introduce cleaner models in their place.”

A European Example

Other European countries offer examples for London to follow. Germany enacted national car-sharing legislation in 2017, providing a nationwide framework for parking, subsidies 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.

“The evidence shows is that car sharing around the world, especially in Europe, is expanding,” said Bharath Devanathan of Invers.

He suggested authorities should start to treat car sharing 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?

Other players can be split into two camps:

1. Company-Owned Fleets: Which maintain their own cars. This includes 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.

One company, 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. “There is a void 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. For now, more people may choose to buy cars, and others across London will be left without access.

For Rotherhithe community kitchen, the next month will be a scramble to find a solution. The delivery problem caused by Zipcar’s exit underscores the wider implications of its departure on community groups and the prospects of shared mobility in the UK.