Mayor Urged to Act to Secure Car Clubs’ Future
Letter says he must ensure their continued viability in London
Zipcar announced it was withdrawing from the UK market a few weeks ago. Picture: Zipcar
December 15, 2025
The Mayor of London has been urged to stage a dramatic intervention to safeguard the future of car clubs in the capital after Zipcar’s imminent departure.
Dozens of signatories, including London Assembly Members, environmental campaign groups such as Clean Cities, academics and other car club operators have written to Sir Sadiq Khan this Monday, (15 December) to demand urgent action to ensure shared transport businesses can remain viable in London.
In the letter, seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), the Mayor was told that Zipcar’s decision to cease their UK operations at the end of this year was a “significant setback” for his climate and transport goals and raised “urgent questions about how policy conditions in our city are harmful to car sharing services”.
The signatories added: “At a time when London is working hard to reduce emissions, improve air quality and expand sustainable travel options, the loss of a major electric car club operator is deeply concerning.
“Without decisive action to ensure the viability of car clubs, London risks falling even further behind other global cities that are leveraging shared, electric mobility as a cornerstone of their climate and transport strategies.
“The withdrawal of London’s main car club operator should be a wake-up call, but it is also an opportunity to redefine and strengthen the conditions needed for car clubs to grow, compete and serve communities across the capital and deliver the associated modal shift and environmental benefits.”
The letter, which comes ahead of an extraordinary meeting to be held in City Hall tomorrow, details four main policy suggestions for the Mayor and Transport for London (TfL), including the drawing up of an urgent plan to “fill the gap” left by ZipCar and coordination of efforts across London boroughs to support the existence of car clubs.
It also recommended reducing parking costs for car clubs and radically increasing the provision of electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure in the capital to reduce the burden on operators.
Car clubs are services where members can access vehicles for a fixed period, with consumers usually able to pay by the minute, hour or day. They are either parked at hubs with other shared transport vehicles or left in dedicated parking bays and areas on the streets.
Seen as an alternative model to private car ownership, they are a crucial part of the Mayor’s transport strategy to decongest London’s roads.
The timing of Zipcar’s decision to suspend operations was not a surprise to many amid Congestion Charge reforms, which will see a 20 per cent price increase to £18 and the end of the electric vehicle (EV) exemption from the levy.
While Zipcar did not lay out the specific reasons for ceasing their UK operations, the firm has previously warned of the impact that the Congestion Charge changes would have.
James Taylor, the General Manager at Zipcar UK, told MPs in September that the removal of the 100% EV discount could make car clubs “commercially unviable” in the capital.
A spokesperson for the Mayor of London told the LDRS, “The Mayor welcomes this letter and recognises that car clubs can provide convenient access to vehicles – including electric vehicles – for key journeys that can’t be made by public transport, supporting less congested streets and cleaner air. We want to ensure that car clubs can remain an option for Londoners.
“TfL and the Mayor’s teams are meeting with stakeholders including boroughs and car club operators over the coming days, to discuss these issues and consider opportunities to collaborate with councils to address the short-term challenges in London’s car club market, as well as longer-term solutions to support the sector moving forward.”
This Tuesday, Seb Dance, the Deputy Mayor for Transport, and Christina Calderato, Director of Transport Strategy and Policy at TfL, will appear in front of the London Assembly Transport Committee to face questions over the demise of Zipcar.
Kumail Jaffer - Local Democracy Reporter
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