Richmond Council to Review Car Rental Services Following Zipcar Exit

Richmond Council is set to review car rental services in the borough following Zipcar's announcement that it will be exiting the London market. The decision was made during a Transport and Air Quality Committee meeting on Monday, 8 December 2025, where councillors discussed the future of car rental provisions and the potential reallocation of parking bays. The committee will discuss the timeline for reallocating the parking bays in a paper to be presented in February. Councillor Frieze requested that the council delay reallocating the bays until then.

Councillor James Chard, Vice-Chair Transport & Air Quality Committee, raised the issue, noting the decision by Zipcar to leave London and the potential impact on Richmond. He inquired about the possibility of another provider stepping in to fill the gap and the future use of the parking bays currently designated for Zipcar vehicles. He said the committee would consider whether there is any prospect of a knight in shining armour that might come in for the numbers that have been lost, and secondly, there's the issue of the bays which are currently allocated for this use.

Councillor Andrée Frieze, Leader of the Opposition, suggested the council should keep those parking bays for as long as possible to maintain them for cars that are not privately owned. She also noted ongoing discussions with other providers and the importance of not being too hasty in reallocating the bays.

Councillor Frieze also suggested that the parking bays could be used for autonomous vehicles or delivery vans. Councillor Chard mentioned that the committee would likely want to use the bays for alternatives to private motor cars, such as bays for blind bikes or bike cameras.

Councillor Carey Bishop emphasised the importance of the Hampton Court Road scheme and the need to consider the area as a whole. David Tidley, Head of Transport Strategy, mentioned that Enterprise, another car club operator, currently has 11 cars in the borough and could potentially utilise the vacant spaces. The committee agreed to discuss the future of car rental services and the allocation of parking bays at a meeting in February.