High parking charges imposed by some London boroughs may have contributed to car club operator Zipcar’s decision to leave the UK market at the start of the year, a coalition of environmental campaigners has claimed.
New research commissioned by Clean Cities found that car club parking tariffs in many areas far exceed the cost of permits for private cars. Maximum charges average more than £900 per year per shared vehicle, with some boroughs charging almost double that amount.
Kensington and Chelsea had the highest maximum tariff, potentially charging up to £2,382 for a single car club permit. By contrast, Merton charged just £80, while a small number of boroughs including Brent, Croydon, Harrow, and Enfield do not charge at all.
Zipcar exited the UK on 1st January, citing rising operational costs and policy challenges. Since then, Southwark Council has promised to cut its parking charges, and Richmond and Wandsworth have now pledged to follow suit. Campaigners are urging all London boroughs to act before May’s local elections.
The research, based on Freedom of Information requests, was analysed by Thomas Fleming Transport Consulting. It noted that while a car club vehicle occupies similar kerbside space to a private car, its higher utilisation – up to 4.75 times greater – and potential to replace up to 32 privately owned vehicles provides “a strong policy rationale for preferential treatment through permit pricing.”
Seven boroughs – Barnet, Bexley, the City of London, Havering, Hillingdon, Lewisham and Redbridge – indicated that no car clubs operate in their area. Campaigners urge them to adopt action plans to establish shared car schemes.
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 of 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.’
Leave a Reply