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The volunteer food project in Rotherhithe has provided hundreds of cooked meals each week for two years to pensioners and needy locals in south London. However, the group's plans have been thrown into disarray by the announcement that they will lose use of New Year’s Day.

This organization depended on Zipcar, the car-sharing company that customers to access its cars from the street. It sent shockwaves through the capital when it said it would cease its UK operations from 1 January.

It will mean many helpers will be unable to collect food from the Felix Project, that collects surplus food from grocery stores, cafes and restaurants. Other options are further away, costlier, or lack the same convenient access.

“It’s going to be affected massively,” stated Vimal Pandya, the project's founder. “My team and I are worried about 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 City Vehicle Clubs

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

The planned closure, subject to consultation with staff, is a serious setback to the vision that car sharing in urban areas could reduce the need for owning a car. However, some analysts have noted that Zipcar’s departure need not spell the end for the idea in Britain.

The Promise of Car Sharing

Car sharing is valued by many urbanists and environmentalists as a way of reducing the problems linked to vehicle ownership. Typically, vehicles sit as two-tonne dead weights on the street for 95% of the time, occupying parking. They also involve large carbon emissions to produce, and people who do not own cars tend to walk, cycle and take transit more. That benefits cities – reducing congestion and pollution – and boosts people’s health through more exercise.

Understanding the Decline

Zipcar was founded in 2000 before being bought by the American rental giant 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 global operations, where we are taking deliberate steps to simplify processes, enhance profitability”.

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

The Capital's Specific Hurdles

Yet, several experts noted that London has particular issues that made it difficult for the sector to succeed.

• Patchwork Policies: Across 33 boroughs, car-club operators face a patchwork of varying processes and prices that made it harder.
• New Costs: The closure coincides with electric cars becoming liable for London’s congestion charge, adding extra expenses.
• Unequal Parking Fees: 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 annually, 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’re putting less polluting cars 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 nationwide framework 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 trails at 0.7.

“What we see is that shared mobility around the world, particularly on the continent, is expanding,” said Bharath Devanathan of Invers.

He suggested authorities should start to view vehicle clubs 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: “There will be fill this gap.”

What Comes Next?

The company’s competitors 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 – 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 already weighing up the UK gap. Rory Brimmer, its UK managing director, said there was a “big opportunity” to win more users. “There is a void 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 establish themselves. 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 highlights the broader impact of its departure on community groups and the future of car-sharing in the UK.