The demise of Zipcar in London last year left hundreds of thousands of residents without a convenient car-sharing option. The Greater London Assembly failed to prevent the service from collapsing when the congestion charge was extended to include shared electric vehicles. This has been described as a negligent oversight by both Keir Starmer's government and Sadiq Khan's administration.
Britain has lagged behind Germany and France in encouraging vehicle-sharing, according to Private Eye. The magazine argues that Labour ministers are so afraid of being seen as 'anti-car' that their acknowledgement of sharing transport was buried in a minor strategy document. The closure of Zipcar affected around 650,000 users, including Green Party London Assembly member Caroline Russell, who said she depended on the service to visit her elderly mother.
With Zipcar gone, attention has turned to Turo, an American car-sharing platform often described as the 'Airbnb of cars'. Turo allows individuals to list their underused vehicles for rent, typically for a minimum of two days. Users pay for insurance and VAT on top of the rental fee. Unlike traditional car hire, there are no large security deposits.
One user reported renting a Land Rover Defender for three days at a total cost of £1,043, including excess mileage and top insurance. A Fiat 500 was rented for two days for £120, and a Mini for two days for £181. All vehicles were in good condition. Turo offers an alternative for those reluctant to own a car, and could also provide a passive income stream for car owners who list their vehicles.
With 36 million private cars in Britain sitting unused 95-99% of the time, representing perhaps a trillion pounds' worth of idle machinery, platforms like Turo could help reduce the number of cars on the road and make better use of existing vehicles.
