Corporate Profile - 2. Hertz Street

2. Hertz Street

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The rent a car service, which was dreamed up and then carried out by a Hungarian man, Sándor Herz, is also present in Budapest in the proximity of Ferihegy Airport, and its headquarter is located in a small town, called Vecsés . Let the name of the street herald the love of work, diligence, creativity and commitment of the Hungarian professional it was named after.

John D. Hertz

He was born April 10, 1879 in a small highland village of Sklabina, in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He was born to be Hungarian and christened Sándor as the son of Katalin and Herz Jakab.

Sándor Herz was six years old when his family emigrated to the United States in 1885. From that time he used "t" in his surname and changed his first name from Sándor to John to be able to adapt to the new environment he encountered there.

The young John started his career selling newspapers as many other later would be successful businessmen. He also tried covering and writing articles about boxing events.

In 1913 in Chicago there were a lot of complaints about the dirty vehicles, the drivers' rudeness and the exorbitant prices of the different taxi services. He felt his time came. He started a cab company with 40 cars, low prices and uniformed drivers, and created the central reservation system so that cabs could be ordered through the phone too.

Apart from organizing tasks, Hertz also paid attention to the condition, tidiness and quality standards of his vehicles. Instead of black cabs he ran yellow ones, which meant car delivery service, polite and accurate drivers and reasonable prices for the citizens of Chicago.

A year later 2700 cabs cruised the streets of Chicago instead of the initial 40. "The yellow cabs" that were inevitable in the streets of US towns was Hertz's idea. As a result of the development of motorization and ever increasing traffic, regulation was needed so Hertz advised mayors to install traffic lights at intersections, and what is more, he undertook to cover the expenses of it in order to facilitate taxi service.

Car makers of that time disregarded the comfort of passengers which was the specialty of the taxi service so Hertz developed a car which was perfect for the purpose of taxi service. One of these vehicles can still be seen today at the headquarters of Park Ridge.

Since it was possible here to rent cars without a driver in 1918 Hertz proposed cooperation with the pioneer of Ford auto renting, Walter L. Jacobs, then later on he bought the rental company which ran on under the new name: Hertz Rent a Car Company.

Over the years Hertz has initiated several services and technological innovations and organizational principles such as using credit card to pay the rent and creating the network of the car rental system. Fundamental principles, continuous innovation and quality requirements laid down by Sándor Hertz marches through the history of the company.