The community kitchen in Rotherhithe has provided a large number of prepared dishes weekly for two years to elderly residents and needy locals in south London. Yet, the group's plans have been thrown into disarray by the announcement that they will not have use of New Year’s Day.
The group had relied on Zipcar, the app-based vehicle rental service that customers to access its fleet of vehicles from the street. It caused shock across London when it said it would cease its UK operations from 1 January.
This means many helpers cannot collect food from the Felix Project, which gathers excess produce from grocery stores, cafes and restaurants. Obvious alternatives are less convenient, costlier, or lack the same flexible hours.
“The impact will be massively,” stated Vimal Pandya, the project's founder. “Personally me and my team are concerned by the operational hurdle we will face. A lot of people like ours are going to struggle.”
“Knowing the reality, everyone is concerned and thinking: ‘How are we going to carry on?”
A Major Blow for Urban Car-Sharing
These volunteers are among over 500,000 people in London who were car club members, who could be left without convenient access to vehicles, avoiding the burden and cost of ownership. The vast majority of those people were probably with Zipcar, which held a dominant position in the city.
The planned closure, pending consultation with staff, is a big blow to hopes that car sharing in urban areas could cut the need for owning a car. However, some experts have noted that Zipcar’s departure need not spell the end for the concept in Britain.
The Potential of Shared Mobility
Car sharing is prized by city planners and environmentalists as a way of reducing the ills linked to vehicle ownership. Typically, vehicles sit idle 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 helps urban areas – easing congestion and pollution – and improves people’s health through increased activity.
Understanding the Decline
The company started in 2000 before its acquisition by the American rental giant Avis Budget in 2013. Zipcar’s UK revenues were minimal compared with its parent company's total earnings, and a deficit that reached £11.7m in 2024 gave no reason to continue.
The parent company stated the closure is part of a “wider restructuring across our international business, where we are taking targeted actions to simplify processes, enhance profitability”.
Zipcar’s most recent accounts said revenues had declined 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 Challenges
Yet, several experts noted that London has specific problems that made it much harder for the sector to succeed.
- Inconsistent Rules: With numerous local councils, car-club operators face a mosaic of different procedures and costs that made it harder.
- Congestion Charge: The closure coincides with electric cars becoming liable for London’s congestion charge, adding unavoidable costs.
- Parking Permit Disparity: Locals 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 resident’s permit,” argued Robert Schopen of Co Wheels. “We remove vehicles. We introduce cleaner models in their place.”
A European Example
Nations in Europe offer models for London to follow. Germany introduced national car-sharing legislation in 2017, providing a nationwide framework for parking, support and waivers. Now, the country has 5.4 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 car sharing around the world, particularly on the continent, is growing,” commented Bharath Devanathan of Invers.
Devanathan said authorities should start to treat car sharing as a form of public transport, and link it with train and bus stations. He added that one unnamed client was looking at entering the London market: “Operators will fill this gap.”
The Future Landscape
The company’s competitors can be split into two camps:
- Fleet Operators: Which maintain their own cars. Examples Denmark’s GreenMobility, France’s Free2Move, and Germany’s Miles Mobility.
- Peer-to-Peer Services: Which allow users to hire out their own vehicles via an app – similar to Airbnb for cars. Players include 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 head, 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 some time for other players to build momentum. For now, more people may feel forced 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 way. The delivery problem caused by Zipcar’s exit underscores the wider implications of its departure on vital services and the prospects of shared mobility in the UK.
