Zipcar is shutting down its UK operations, basically the only car club that worked in London. Massive kick to anyone who tries to live in capital without owning a car. Having been a customer for 17 years and used Zipvans to move house repeatedly, this is.... very bad! (Zipcar is owned by Avis)
December 1, 2025 at 3:09 PM
Zipcar is shutting down its UK operations, basically the only car club that worked in London. Massive kick to anyone who tries to live in capital without owning a car. Having been a customer for 17 years and used Zipvans to move house repeatedly, this is.... very bad! (Zipcar is owned by Avis)
The question of being exploited economically by landleeches aside, it's worth pointing out that you can't "flit about" and also maintain possessions that have to be lugged from "zipcar home" to "zipcar home." Also, IDK, having stable school districts for children and many other real-world concerns
June 12, 2026 at 8:49 PM
The question of being exploited economically by landleeches aside, it's worth pointing out that you can't "flit about" and also maintain possessions that have to be lugged from "zipcar home" to "zipcar home." Also, IDK, having stable school districts for children and many other real-world concerns
A future without Zipcar*
*I walked home, obvs
*I walked home, obvs
December 29, 2025 at 1:31 PM
A future without Zipcar*
*I walked home, obvs
*I walked home, obvs
Among other issues with Zipcar's model in London: Having to negotiate individually with 32 boroughs, some of which charged thousands of pounds per car. Meanwhile, Croydon council outsourced much of their employee car fleet to Zipcar and may be a bit screwed. www.londoncentric.media/p/zipcar-lon...
Why Zipcar gave up on London
The car-sharing scheme was hit by rapidly increased costs, a new congestion charge, and a lack of support from councils.
www.londoncentric.media
December 2, 2025 at 7:19 AM
Among other issues with Zipcar's model in London: Having to negotiate individually with 32 boroughs, some of which charged thousands of pounds per car. Meanwhile, Croydon council outsourced much of their employee car fleet to Zipcar and may be a bit screwed. www.londoncentric.media/p/zipcar-lon...
Hey guys don't leave your wallet in a Zipcar, turns out the company has a policy (understandable maybe but also terrible?) that they refuse to call the person IN the Zipcar to see if they have your wallet... You just have to wait for them to return the car, then check yourself. WORD TO THE FOOLISH
July 17, 2026 at 6:37 PM
Hey guys don't leave your wallet in a Zipcar, turns out the company has a policy (understandable maybe but also terrible?) that they refuse to call the person IN the Zipcar to see if they have your wallet... You just have to wait for them to return the car, then check yourself. WORD TO THE FOOLISH
Someone couldn't access their passport; missed flight, missed exam because the Zipcar app wasn't working with Zipcar itself not responding to customers www.404media.co/a-total-melt...
December 3, 2024 at 7:10 PM
Someone couldn't access their passport; missed flight, missed exam because the Zipcar app wasn't working with Zipcar itself not responding to customers www.404media.co/a-total-melt...
So farewell Zipcar, which folded its UK operation last night. I kept hoping for some solution or reprieve. It never came. Southwark council did make the sort of offer which might have made a difference, but only 24 hours before the end of services.
southwarknews.co.uk/news/communi...
southwarknews.co.uk/news/communi...
Southwark Council offers Zipcar free parking permits until 2027
Southwark Council has offered to give Zipcar free parking permits until April 2027 if they keep operating in the borough.
southwarknews.co.uk
January 1, 2026 at 9:49 AM
So farewell Zipcar, which folded its UK operation last night. I kept hoping for some solution or reprieve. It never came. Southwark council did make the sort of offer which might have made a difference, but only 24 hours before the end of services.
southwarknews.co.uk/news/communi...
southwarknews.co.uk/news/communi...
WHO LEFT TOMATOES ON MY ZIPCAR??
It’s like truck nutz for liberals
It’s like truck nutz for liberals
July 15, 2024 at 9:58 PM
WHO LEFT TOMATOES ON MY ZIPCAR??
It’s like truck nutz for liberals
It’s like truck nutz for liberals
Unsurprisingly @jim.londoncentric.media of @londoncentric.media (a brilliant substack reporting London which is worth your time and money) has the background on Zipcar. Council fees is a part of the story though not all. TLDR: no centralised transport policy.
www.londoncentric.media/p/zipcar-lon...
www.londoncentric.media/p/zipcar-lon...
Why Zipcar gave up on London
The car-sharing scheme was hit by rapidly increased costs, a new congestion charge, and a lack of support from councils.
www.londoncentric.media
December 2, 2025 at 8:52 AM
Unsurprisingly @jim.londoncentric.media of @londoncentric.media (a brilliant substack reporting London which is worth your time and money) has the background on Zipcar. Council fees is a part of the story though not all. TLDR: no centralised transport policy.
www.londoncentric.media/p/zipcar-lon...
www.londoncentric.media/p/zipcar-lon...
This is why it sucks that ZipCar got bought out by Avis who promptly enshitified it.
I’m pretty anti auto dependence as you know, but I do think that reducing the friction of renting a vehicle would be a big step in the right direction
August 18, 2026 at 5:39 PM
This is why it sucks that ZipCar got bought out by Avis who promptly enshitified it.
Boston is getting my dream car setup - electric Zipcar carshare, and powered by solar panels! What's cool too is since a carshare car is usually only getting driven ~30mi a day, the solar panels are plenty to keep them charged and happy
A new Zipcar pilot pairs shared EVs with off-grid solar charging
A Greater Boston Zipcar pilot is using off-grid solar chargers to bring affordable shared EVs to historically underserved communities.
electrek.co
August 2, 2026 at 11:44 PM
Boston is getting my dream car setup - electric Zipcar carshare, and powered by solar panels! What's cool too is since a carshare car is usually only getting driven ~30mi a day, the solar panels are plenty to keep them charged and happy
End of a Zipcar era, thanks to Avis pulling out.
550,000 members in London - the presence of a car club for occasional use underpinning exceptionally low levels of car ownership - just 30% in some inner boroughs.
Will this mean more private cars, parking and congestion?
TfL what’s the plan?
550,000 members in London - the presence of a car club for occasional use underpinning exceptionally low levels of car ownership - just 30% in some inner boroughs.
Will this mean more private cars, parking and congestion?
TfL what’s the plan?
January 17, 2026 at 11:52 AM
End of a Zipcar era, thanks to Avis pulling out.
550,000 members in London - the presence of a car club for occasional use underpinning exceptionally low levels of car ownership - just 30% in some inner boroughs.
Will this mean more private cars, parking and congestion?
TfL what’s the plan?
550,000 members in London - the presence of a car club for occasional use underpinning exceptionally low levels of car ownership - just 30% in some inner boroughs.
Will this mean more private cars, parking and congestion?
TfL what’s the plan?
🌱Load Zipcar
🌱Drop off load at storage
🌱Drop off load at storage
January 4, 2025 at 2:30 PM
🌱Load Zipcar
🌱Drop off load at storage
🌱Drop off load at storage
A new Zipcar pilot pairs shared EVs with off-grid solar charging
A new Zipcar pilot pairs shared EVs with off-grid solar charging
Four Greater Boston communities now have off-grid solar EV chargers powering a new Zipcar pilot designed to bring affordable carsharing to places that have historically gone without it.
electrek.co
July 30, 2026 at 9:13 PM
A new Zipcar pilot pairs shared EVs with off-grid solar charging
New from 404 Media: a Zipcar app and website outage on Black Friday created a clusterfuck nationwide with many customers stranded and locked out of rental cars. We spoke to 5 customers impacted. Some stuck outside for hours. Zipcar not commenting www.404media.co/a-total-melt...
‘A Total Meltdown’: Black Friday Zipcar Outage Strands Customers in Random Places
"Went to buy a quick drink to the store and all of the sudden the car is locked. I’ve been waiting over 4 hours in the cold."
www.404media.co
December 3, 2024 at 7:08 PM
New from 404 Media: a Zipcar app and website outage on Black Friday created a clusterfuck nationwide with many customers stranded and locked out of rental cars. We spoke to 5 customers impacted. Some stuck outside for hours. Zipcar not commenting www.404media.co/a-total-melt...
Extremely wild: Zipcar had an outage on Black Friday, which stranded customers all over the country. People unable to return cars they'd rented, locked out of cars everywhere. Stuck on hold for hours. Nightmare
www.404media.co/a-total-melt...
www.404media.co/a-total-melt...
‘A Total Meltdown’: Black Friday Zipcar Outage Strands Customers in Random Places
"Went to buy a quick drink to the store and all of the sudden the car is locked. I’ve been waiting over 4 hours in the cold."
www.404media.co
December 3, 2024 at 6:49 PM
Extremely wild: Zipcar had an outage on Black Friday, which stranded customers all over the country. People unable to return cars they'd rented, locked out of cars everywhere. Stuck on hold for hours. Nightmare
www.404media.co/a-total-melt...
www.404media.co/a-total-melt...
tired of sending the same reply 100 times: yes i know about zipcar but zipcar is more expensive and inconvenient esp if you just need to take occasional short trips
September 12, 2025 at 6:28 PM
tired of sending the same reply 100 times: yes i know about zipcar but zipcar is more expensive and inconvenient esp if you just need to take occasional short trips
Don't give me that look, Zipcar, you know EXACTLY what you just said. In the time-out corner, now.
July 19, 2025 at 12:54 PM
Don't give me that look, Zipcar, you know EXACTLY what you just said. In the time-out corner, now.
Thanks. We're 15 years carless, and have used Zipcar when needed. I have to drive to backpack and hike and for wknds away and Zipcar has gotten so much worse and more $$$ since we moved to Seattle, we've started to consider buying a car, despite desperately not wanting to do so because I hate cars.
August 5, 2025 at 7:43 PM
Thanks. We're 15 years carless, and have used Zipcar when needed. I have to drive to backpack and hike and for wknds away and Zipcar has gotten so much worse and more $$$ since we moved to Seattle, we've started to consider buying a car, despite desperately not wanting to do so because I hate cars.
Uber Driver Uses Zipcar To DoorDash. Loses Sense Of Self.
November 7, 2025 at 1:22 AM
Uber Driver Uses Zipcar To DoorDash. Loses Sense Of Self.
A Zipcar outage on Black Friday caused chaos nationwide with many stranded and locked out of the cars they had rented, unable to return or lock them
🔗 www.404media.co/a-total-melt...
🔗 www.404media.co/a-total-melt...
December 3, 2024 at 8:31 PM
A Zipcar outage on Black Friday caused chaos nationwide with many stranded and locked out of the cars they had rented, unable to return or lock them
🔗 www.404media.co/a-total-melt...
🔗 www.404media.co/a-total-melt...