Budget Truck Rental History
1998
Budget Group, Inc. acquires Ryder TRS, Inc. and combines it with Budget Truck Rental to form the Budget Truck Group in June.
2001
Budget Truck Rental’s first 700 newly-designed, blue trucks are released from the manufacturing plant on October 15.
2002
Ryder TRS, Inc. is officially integrated with Budget Truck Rental, under one brand name, during first quarter.
Budget Truck Rental begins to retire the Ryder TRS, Inc. bright-yellow-trademarked trucks from the fleet, and replaces with new, blue Budget trucks.
From coast to coast, Ryder TRS, Inc. signs are replaced with new Budget signs.
Budget enters into a definitive agreement to sell substantially all of its car and truck operations to Cendant Corporation’s subsidiary Cherokee Acquisition Corp. on August 22. The sale to Cendant Corporation is completed on November 22.
2003
20,000 Ryder TRS, Inc. trucks are redesigned and reintroduced to the rental fleet with new Budget logos.
Budget Truck Rental has approximately 28,000 trucks and over 2,400 convenient U.S. locations by the end of 2003.
2004
Budget Truck Rental purchases 8,500 new, white re-designed trucks for rental fleet.
Budget Truck Rental has approximately 30,000 trucks and over 2,500 convenient U.S. locations by the end of 2004.
2006
Cendant Corporation separated into four independent companies: Realogy, Wyndham Worldwide, Travelport, and Avis Budget Group, Inc. Through this separation, Budget Truck Rental became a subsidiary of Avis Budget Group.
Fun Facts
In the famed presidential election of 2000, a Budget truck made history by transporting Florida’s contested presidential election ballots from Palm Beach to Tallahassee to decide the election. The trip made by the Budget truck resulted in tremendous press coverage throughout the nation.
Budget sold the ballot-carrying truck on Yahoo! Auctions, and the proceeds – $67,100 – were donated to the American Red Cross. (For many years, Budget has provided trucks to the American Red Cross for disaster relief efforts across the country.)