High parking charges from some London councils may have contributed to the exit of Zipcar from the UK earlier this year, according to a coalition of more than 140 environmental NGOs.
Independent research commissioned by Clean Cities found that car club parking tariffs were often far higher than the cost of parking a private car, with maximum costs averaging more than £900 per year per shared vehicle.
The research found significant differences between boroughs. Kensington and Chelsea had the highest maximum tariff for a car club parking permit, with potential charges of up to £2,382 for a single permit, while the lowest recorded charge was £80 in Merton.
Several boroughs do not charge for car club bay permits, including Brent, Croydon, Harrow and Enfield.
Following Zipcar’s withdrawal from the UK market, some councils have begun to review their policies.
Southwark Council said it would cut parking costs, while Richmond and Wandsworth councils have also pledged to reduce charges.
Campaigners are now calling on all London boroughs to introduce similar measures ahead of local elections in May.
Seven local authorities, including Barnet, Bexley, the City of London, Havering, Hillingdon, Lewisham and Redbridge, told researchers that car clubs do not currently operate in their areas.
Campaigners are urging those councils to commit to action plans to support car sharing and improve access to shared electric vehicles.
Zak Bond, campaign manager at Clean Cities, said: “The positive news is that some London boroughs are now starting to cut charges for car clubs, some of which were astronomical before. We know many people will feel like they are forced to buy a private car if they can no longer access a car club.
“Cutting costs is an important step towards rebuilding the market for electric car clubs in London, and indeed the rest of the UK. We’ll only tackle climate change and pollution if we give people access to affordable and convenient shared electric cars.”
Richard Dilks, chief executive at CoMoUK, said: “We’ve warned for years that a difficult policy environment and rising costs would affect the viability of car clubs.
“Car clubs have faced sharp rises in costs such as council parking permits, insurance, charging costs for EVs and recent changes to the Congestion Charge.
“But there is hope – where boroughs commit to reducing costs, speeding up and simplifying processes and being flexible – we can restart the market and get back on the right path to healthier neighbourhoods for all.”
Zipcar had been the largest car club operator in the UK, with around 650,000 members nationally, including about 550,000 in London across residents and businesses.
