Minibus hire in Bengaluru, 21 to 32 seats
The size that actually fits a Bengaluru working day: small enough for a tech-park gate and a Koramangala side street, big enough to move a whole department in one vehicle.
In short
Minibus hire in Bengaluru runs ₹28–₹35 per km for 20–21 seats, ₹32–₹45 for 24–27 seats and ₹38–₹47 for 29–33 seats, with a 300 km per day minimum on the larger classes. Local 8-hour / 80-kilometre days are ₹8,000–₹10,000. Driver bata is ₹600–₹800 a day.
Reviewed 20 September 2026 · per-seat economics recalculated whenever the local package bands move
Minibus rates by capacity
The 29–33 seat band is technically a bus rather than a minibus, but Bengaluru buyers shop the whole 20-to-33 range together, so it sits here too.
| Capacity | Per km (AC) | Local 8 h / 80 km | Half day 4 h / 40 km | Min km / day | Bata / day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20–21 seats | ₹28–35 | ₹8,000–9,000 | ₹5,500–6,500 | 250–300 | ₹600–800 |
| 24–27 seats — executive | ₹32–45 | ₹9,000–10,000 | ₹5,500–6,500 | 300 | ₹600–800 |
| 29–33 seats — standard AC | ₹38–47 | ₹8,000–9,500 | ₹5,500–6,500 | 300 | ₹600–800 |
Why a minibus beats a 45-seater inside Bengaluru
Per seat, a full 45-seater is cheaper than a full 21-seater. That is arithmetic and it is not in dispute. The reason we still put more minibuses than coaches on city work is that inside Bengaluru you rarely get to fill the coach, and the coach rarely gets to move.
Gate access. A 21 or 27-seater can use the ordinary visitor gate at most tech parks and business parks. A 45-seater is routed to a designated coach bay, which at a 300-acre campus like Embassy Manyata can be a kilometre from the tower your team actually sits in. The seat you saved money on is spent walking.
Lane behaviour on the ORR. At the evening peak Bengaluru averages 13.2 km/h and 45 minutes 27 seconds per 10 kilometres. A minibus filters through the Marathahalli, Bellandur and Silk Board bottlenecks in a way a twelve-metre coach simply cannot. On a Devarabeesanahalli-to-Whitefield evening run, the minibus is routinely 15–20 minutes quicker over the same route.
Parking at the far end. Restaurants, resorts near Nandi Hills, offsite venues on Kanakapura Road and most Koramangala and Indiranagar addresses have somewhere to leave a minibus and nowhere to leave a coach. Coach parking is a real line item and a real argument with a security guard.
Splitting the pickup. Two 27-seat minibuses cost more than one 45-seater, but they run two separate pickup loops. For a 45-person offsite where 25 people live around Whitefield and 20 around Electronic City, two vehicles save every passenger 40–60 minutes of cross-city collection. That is usually the deciding argument, not the rate.
Tempo traveller, minibus or full coach — a decision table
Read down the group-size column first, then check the constraint rows. The right answer is often not the cheapest row.
| Group size | Default choice | Step up if | Step down if |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to 12 | 12-seat tempo traveller, ₹22–26/km | Luggage is heavy or the route is a ghat | — |
| 13–17 | 17-seat tempo traveller, ₹26–32/km | Trip is over 300 km one way — take a 21-seat minibus for legroom | Group is really 12 and shrinking |
| 18–21 | 21-seat minibus, ₹28–35/km | You need a boot rather than a rear shelf | Headcount is soft — a 17-seat TT is ₹4/km cheaper |
| 22–27 | 27-seat minibus, ₹32–45/km | Journey is overnight or client-facing | — |
| 28–33 | 33-seat AC bus, ₹38–47/km | Ghat route with luggage | Two loops needed across the city — take two 21-seaters |
| 34–44 | 45-seat AC bus, ₹48–65/km | Group is client-facing — BharatBenz or Volvo | Pickups are scattered — two 27-seaters |
| 45–55 | 49-seat or 55-seat coach | — | Gate or driveway access is doubtful — split into two |
What a Bengaluru minibus is usually doing
Weekday, corporate
- Department offsites of 20–30 from a single tower — one loop, one vehicle
- Night-shift shuttles on fixed ORR and Electronic City routes
- Client and auditor movements between Bengaluru offices and a hotel
- Metro feeder runs from Whitefield and Bommasandra stations into campuses
Weekend, group
- Coorg, Chikmagalur and Sakleshpur weekends for 20–30 friends or a team
- School and college excursions to Mysore, Nandi Hills and Shivanasamudra
- Airport group transfers where a coach cannot reach the pickup address
- Wedding guest shuttles between a hotel block and a venue inside the city
Outstation with a minibus: what the 300 km minimum does to short trips
A 27-seat minibus on a single-day Mysore run bills 300 kilometres even though Bengaluru to Mysore and back is about 300 — so on that route the minimum and the road distance agree, and the charter subtotal is ₹10,200–14,300 before tolls. That is the unusual case where outstation per-km pricing is fair on a day trip.
Now take Nandi Hills, 60 km each way. The road distance is 120 km; the minimum is 300. You would be billed 300 km at ₹32–45 — ₹10,200–14,300 — for a trip the 8-hour / 80-kilometre local package covers at ₹9,000–₹10,000. On any day trip inside about 120 km of the city, ask for the local package and ask for the extra-kilometre rate in the same breath. We quote both.
The crossover sits at roughly 130–140 km one way for the 27-seat class. Beyond that, per-kilometre outstation pricing is cheaper than a local package plus extra kilometres. Below it, the package wins. No competitor in this market publishes that crossover, and it is the single most useful thing on this page.
Questions we answer daily
What is the mini bus rental price in Bangalore per km?
₹28–₹35 per kilometre for a 20–21 seater, ₹32–₹45 for a 24–27 seat executive minibus and ₹38–₹47 for a 29–33 seat AC bus, all garage-to-garage. Minimum billing is 250–300 km a day depending on class, plus ₹600–₹800 driver bata per day.
How much is a 21 seater minibus for one day in Bengaluru?
₹8,000–₹9,000 for a local 8-hour / 80-kilometre day, or ₹5,500–₹6,500 for a half day of 4 hours and 40 kilometres. Extra kilometres beyond the package are ₹22–₹35 and extra hours ₹150–₹300. Outstation days are billed per kilometre against a 250–300 km minimum instead.
Which bus size is cheapest per seat in Bangalore?
The 29–33 seat AC bus, at roughly ₹265 per seat for a local 8-hour day at full occupancy, against ₹367 for a 45-seater and ₹485 for a 17-seat tempo traveller. That assumes every seat is filled. A half-empty 45-seater is the most expensive way to move a team in Bengaluru.
Can a minibus enter a tech park gate?
A 21 or 27-seater usually clears the ordinary visitor gate at Bengaluru tech parks, while a 45-seat coach is directed to a designated boarding bay that may be a long walk from your tower. On a 300-acre campus like Embassy Manyata that walk is the difference between a 10-minute and a 25-minute pickup.
Is one 45-seater cheaper than two 27-seat minibuses?
Yes, by roughly 25–30% on the vehicle line. Two minibuses win when your people are spread across the city, because they run two pickup loops instead of one long collection route. For a 45-person offsite split between Whitefield and Electronic City, two vehicles save each passenger 40–60 minutes.
What is the minimum kilometre charge for a minibus?
250 to 300 kilometres per day depending on the class — 250 for a 20-seater, 300 for 24 seats and above. On a two-day trip that means 600 billable kilometres for a 27-seater regardless of the road distance, which is why a 265 km Coorg run bills as 600, not 530.
Should I book a local package or per-km for a Nandi Hills day trip?
The local 8-hour / 80-kilometre package at ₹9,000–₹10,000, plus extra kilometres at ₹22–₹35. Per-kilometre outstation pricing would bill the 300 km class minimum for a 120 km round trip. The crossover point where per-km becomes cheaper is around 130–140 km each way.
Do you have non-AC minibuses in Bengaluru?
A few, and they run roughly 10–20% below the AC rate — so about ₹24–₹30 per kilometre for a 21-seater. The segment has shrunk to school runs and short morning temple trips. For anything corporate or anything over two hours we recommend the AC vehicle and say so at quote stage.
How many bags fit in a 27-seat minibus?
A rear luggage compartment on a 24–27 seat executive minibus takes about 20 cabin bags, not 27 suitcases. For a Coorg or Chikmagalur weekend with checked luggage we plan for a rear shelf plus the last row folded, or we recommend stepping up to a 33-seat bus with a proper boot.
Related pages
- Tempo traveller, 12–20 seats The step down, with rates
- 45-seater bus rental The step up, and when not to take it
- Full rate card Every class from 12 to 55 seats
- Employee transport contracts Where minibuses do most of their work
- Tech park shuttles Gate access park by park
- Bangalore to Chikmagalur A classic 25-person minibus weekend
Send the headcount, the pickup points and the date.
You get a written quote with billable kilometres, bata, tolls and the GST option spelled out — usually inside two hours, on WhatsApp or as a proforma invoice your finance team can raise a PO against.