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A community kitchen in Rotherhithe has provided hundreds of prepared dishes weekly for two years to pensioners and needy locals in southeast London. However, their operations have been thrown into disarray by the announcement that they will lose access to New Year’s Day.

This organization depended on Zipcar, the car-sharing company that allowed its fleet of vehicles from the street. The company sent shockwaves across London when it said it would shut down its UK business from 1 January.

This means many helpers cannot collect food from a major food charity, which gathers excess produce from grocery stores, cafes and restaurants. Other options are further away, costlier, or lack the same flexible hours.

“The impact will be massively,” stated Vimal Pandya, the community kitchen’s founder. “Personally me and my team are worried about the logistical challenge we will face. A lot of people like ours will face difficulties.”

“Knowing the reality, everyone is concerned and thinking: ‘How are we going to carry on?”

A Major Blow for Urban Car-Sharing

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

This shutdown, pending consultation with employees, is a serious setback to the vision that car sharing in urban areas could cut the need for owning a car. Yet, some analysts have noted that Zipcar’s exit need not spell the end for the idea in Britain.

The Promise of Shared Mobility

Car sharing is prized by city planners and environmentalists as a way of reducing the ills linked to vehicle ownership. Most cars sit idle on the street for 95% of the time, occupying parking. They also involve large CO2 output to produce, and people who do not own cars tend to walk, cycle and take transit more. That helps urban areas – easing congestion and pollution – and improves public health through more exercise.

What Went Wrong?

The company started in 2000 before being bought by the US car rental group Avis Budget in 2013. Zipcar’s UK revenues were minimal compared with its parent company'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 “broader transformation across our international business, where we are taking deliberate steps to simplify processes, enhance profitability”.

Zipcar’s most recent accounts noted revenues had declined as drivers took less frequent, shorter trips. “This trend reflect the ongoing impact of the cost-of-living crisis, which continues to suppress demand for discretionary spending,” it said.

London's Unique Hurdles

However, several experts noted that London has specific problems that made it difficult for the company and its rivals to succeed.

• Patchwork Policies: With numerous local councils, car-club operators face a mosaic of varying processes and costs that made it harder.
• New Costs: The closure comes as electric cars becoming liable for London’s congestion charge, adding extra expenses.
• Unequal Parking Fees: Residents in some boroughs pay as little as £63 for a annual electric car parking permit. A floating car club would pay over £1,100 per year, creating a significant barrier.

“Our fees should be one-twentieth of a private parking cost,” argued 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 shared mobility laws in 2017, providing a unified system for parking, support and exemptions. Now, the country has 5.4 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 shared mobility around the world, particularly on the continent, is growing,” commented Bharath Devanathan of Invers.

Devanathan said authorities should start to view vehicle clubs as a form of mass transit, 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.”

The Future Landscape

Other players can be split into two models:

1. Company-Owned Fleets: Which own or lease 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 peer-to-peer platform, is assessing the UK gap. Rory Brimmer, its UK head, said there was a “big opportunity” 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. In the meantime, more people may feel forced to buy cars, and others across London will be without a convenient option.

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