Tempo travellers, minibuses, 45-seat coaches, Volvos and sleeper coaches that we own and garage in Chennai. Every rate on this site is split by vehicle class, states what is included, and counts driver bata the way the bill will — by calendar day.
Pick your headcount. We show the class we would put you in and its 2026 band, then send an exact written quote.
A "45-seater" in Chennai can be a 3+2 school-spec bus, a 2+2 AC pushback coach or a Volvo multi-axle, and they cost very different money. Here is how we separate them, with the 2026 band for each.
17 / 20seatsOur smallest coach. 2+1 pushback seats, roof carrier, AC. Department outings, small temple groups, IV sub-batches and airport crew runs.
21 – 27seatsThe Chennai workhorse: Eicher, SML and Tata minibuses. Non-AC 3+2 for shift runs and school sections; AC 2+2 for weddings and Sabarimala groups.
30 / 32seatsCoach comfort in a body that still fits temple streets and Ambattur industrial lanes. 2+2 pushback, underbody luggage, AC.
35 – 49seatsOur flagship 45-seater and its siblings. Non-AC 3+2 (up to 55 seats) for staff contracts and school trips; AC 2+2 pushback for anything over four hours.
41 – 49seatsMulti-axle, 2+2 wide pushback, air suspension, on-board charging. Corporate movements, wedding parties from out of town, Bangalore and Kerala runs.
30 – 40berthsFor overnight pilgrimage runs — Rameswaram, Sabarimala, Velankanni — where the group sleeps on the road and wakes at the temple.
Need 12 or 14 seats? That is below our floor — our sister site chennaicarrentalss.com runs the 12 and 14-seat tempo travellers, cars and Innovas.
Read the basis before the numbers. Every quote we send is built on exactly this arithmetic; the full card with extra-km and extra-hour rates for each class is on the rate page.
| Class | Seats | Local 10 hr / 100 km | Outstation ₹ / km | Min km / day | Driver bata / day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tempo Traveller AC2+1 pushback | 17 / 20 | ₹6,500 – ₹8,500 | ₹24 – ₹32 | 250 | ₹600 – ₹800 |
| Minibus non-AC3+2 | 21 / 25 / 27 | ₹7,000 – ₹9,500 | ₹27 – ₹33 | 300 | ₹500 – ₹800 |
| Minibus AC2+2 | 21 / 25 / 27 | ₹9,000 – ₹12,000 | ₹33 – ₹45 | 250 | ₹700 – ₹1,000 |
| Midi coach AC2+2 pushback | 30 / 32 | ₹11,000 – ₹15,000 | ₹45 – ₹58 | 250 | ₹800 – ₹1,000 |
| Coach non-AC3+2 | 35 / 45 / 49 / 55 | ₹9,500 – ₹14,000 | ₹40 – ₹55 | 300 | ₹500 – ₹800 |
| Coach AC2+2 pushback | 35 / 40 / 45 / 49 | ₹12,500 – ₹18,000 | ₹55 – ₹70 | 200 – 250 | ₹800 – ₹1,000 |
| Luxury coachVolvo / BharatBenz / Benz, multi-axle | 41 / 45 / 49 | ₹18,000 – ₹27,000 | ₹70 – ₹95 | 200 | ₹1,000 – ₹1,250 |
| AC sleeper coachper day, not local package | 30 – 40 berth | ₹22,000 – ₹32,000 / day | ₹85 – ₹110 | 250 | ₹1,000 – ₹1,250 |
Most disputes in this business come from two lines: bata and permits. Both are written on our quote before you pay the advance.
A wedding party leaves Chennai at 11 pm on Friday, spends Saturday at the mandapam in Kanchipuram and gets back at 2 am on Sunday. The bus was out for 27 hours — but it touched three calendar days, so the driver is paid three days of bata. Every operator bills it this way; we are the ones who write it on the quote. Full inclusions, permits and bata explainer →
Three-shift pickup and drop for plants at Sriperumbudur, Irungattukottai, Oragadam and Maraimalai Nagar, and two-shift IT rosters on OMR, Siruseri, Guindy and Ambattur. Our own 3+2 coaches and minibuses on 12 – 24 month contracts with a 3-month trial, backup vehicle and GST billing.
₹3,500 – ₹10,000per employee per month, by zone and shift pattern
Mahabalipuram, Crocodile Bank, Vedanthangal, Kanchipuram day trips and overnight college tours. Peak season is November to February — book 3 weeks ahead.
Nov – Febpeak season · fitness certificate & AITP on requestEngineering batches to the Sriperumbudur–Oragadam plant belt that builds 33% of India's commercial vehicles. Gate timings, ID lists and where the bus waits, handled.
33% · 21% · 35%of India's CVs, cars and auto components are made here
Hotel-to-mandapam loops on muhurtham day, multi-coach convoys, and out-of-town families brought in from Madurai, Trichy or Bangalore. Decided 2 – 8 weeks out.
Jan – Mar · Apr – Jun · Aug – SepTamil muhurtham seasons we staff for
Tirupati, Velankanni, Rameswaram, Madurai, Sabarimala in the Mandala season, the Navagraha circuit and the four-day Arupadai Veedu. Drivers who know the temple streets a 45-seater cannot enter.
Nov – JanSabarimala season · Kerala permit arrangedEach card shows the class, the days, and the all-in band for the whole bus — fuel, driver, bata, tolls, parking and permit — so you can divide by your headcount before you call us.
Most booked140kmNH716 via Tiruttani, 3.5 – 4 hours each way. One-day darshan run or an overnight with an early slot.
60kmDown ECR, 1.5 hours. The standard school day trip and the ECR resort offsite for OMR teams.
170kmECR all the way, 3.5 hours. College tours, office day-outs and a long day for a 45-seater — leave by 6 am.
300kmVia ECR or NH32 and Nagapattinam, 6 – 7 hours. Two days, one night; peaks around the September feast and Christmas.
220kmNH48 to Vaniyambadi then 14 hairpins. The closest hill station for a one-day college or team outing.
520kmNH44 to Dindigul, then the Batlagundu ghat. Three days, two nights is the sensible minimum for a coach.
Chennai to Bangalore — the route where the permit class decides the bill
Every bus we run inside Tamil Nadu carries a TN contract-carriage permit, which is all a Chennai wedding, school trip or Velankanni run needs. The moment the bus crosses into Karnataka, Kerala or Andhra Pradesh, the permit class decides the bill. A bus on a state permit pays an entry tax at the border — for a 35 – 49 seater entering Karnataka that is typically ₹15,000 – ₹35,000 per entry, and Kerala charges ₹9,500 – ₹11,500+ for a 21 – 32 seater. A bus on an All India Tourist Permit (AITP) pays none of it: under the 2023 AITP rules no composite tax, border tax, passenger tax or check-post tax may be levied on an AITP vehicle. So for Bangalore, Tirupati and Sabarimala we put you on an AITP bus and show the saving on the quote. Hill stations are a separate line — Ooty, Kodaikanal, Yercaud and Yelagiri carry a ₹1,500 – ₹2,500 surcharge for the ghat work. Read the full permit and border-tax explainer, with the AP and Kerala tables.
Send seats, date and route. You get a PDF quote with the class, the km basis, the bata-day count and every excluded line named — on WhatsApp, within 2 working hours.
Pay 25% by UPI or bank transfer against a GST invoice. The bus and the date are now yours; corporates and schools can book on a PO.
By 6 pm the previous evening you have the driver's name and mobile, the registration number and the reporting time at your pickup point.
Odometer reading at the yard, receipts for tolls and parking attached, final invoice at 5% GST. Pay the balance when the trip ends, not before.
People bring a cousin, a bag takes a seat, someone needs the front row. The table is the short version; the full decision guide covers luggage, 2+2 vs 3+2, ghat roads and when two minibuses beat one coach.
| Group size | We would put you in | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 12 – 14 | Tempo traveller, 12 / 14 seat — sister site | Below our 17-seat floor |
| 15 – 18 | Tempo Traveller 20-seat AC | Luggage on the roof carrier, everyone seated |
| 19 – 24 | Minibus 25 or 27 | 3+2 for cost, 2+2 AC over 4 hours |
| 25 – 29 | Midi coach 32 | Underbody luggage for overnight trips |
| 30 – 42 | Coach 45 / 49 | The best per-head rate in the fleet |
| 43 – 50 | Coach 49 / 55 non-AC, or Volvo 49 | 3+2 seats 55; AC caps at 49 |
| 50 + | Two coaches in convoy | Same driver briefing, same reporting time |
Chennai Bus Rentals is the bus and coach brand of Winmaxi Holidays & Travels Pvt Ltd, a Coimbatore-registered operator (9/5 Subramaniam Road, Ramanathapuram, Coimbatore 641045) whose coaches are garaged in Chennai and billed garage-to-garage from the Chennai yard. We handle 17 seats and above only: tempo travellers, minibuses, midi coaches, 35 – 55 seat coaches, Volvo and BharatBenz luxury coaches and AC sleepers, for staff-transport contracts on the Sriperumbudur–Oragadam auto belt, school and college trips, industrial visits, weddings and pilgrimage groups. Cars, Innovas and 12 – 14 seat travellers are run by our sister brand chennaicarrentalss.com.
Three 49-seaters on our Oragadam plant's B and C shifts for a year now. The backup bus has been needed twice and turned up both times. The per-seat number on the contract is the number on the invoice.
Two non-AC coaches to Mahabalipuram and Crocodile Bank for 96 students. Fitness certificate and insurance sent before I asked, the drivers waited where we said, and the bill matched the quote to the rupee.
Our Sabarimala group of 44 went in a 45-seat AC coach with the Kerala permit already arranged. They told us it would be 3 bata days before we left, so nobody argued at Pamba. We have booked the same bus for Rameswaram.
It depends on the class behind the seat count. In 2026 a 45-seat non-AC 3+2 coach runs ₹40 – ₹55 per km, an AC 2+2 pushback coach ₹55 – ₹70 per km, and a Volvo or BharatBenz multi-axle ₹70 – ₹95 per km, each with a 200 – 300 km daily minimum, driver bata and tolls extra.
Chennai outstation hires are billed garage-to-garage against a daily minimum: 300 km for non-AC minibuses and coaches, 250 km for tempo travellers, AC minibuses, midi and sleeper coaches, and 200 – 250 km for AC and luxury coaches. If you drive 180 km on a 250 km minimum day, you pay for 250. Local city work uses the 10 hr / 100 km package instead.
Driver bata is the driver's daily allowance, ₹500 – ₹1,250 per day depending on the class, charged per calendar day rather than per 24 hours. A bus that leaves at 11 pm Friday and returns at 2 am Sunday touches Friday, Saturday and Sunday, so it is 3 bata days. We write the count on the quote so there is no argument at the end.
On the local 10 hr / 100 km package, an AC 2+2 minibus is ₹9,000 – ₹12,000 against ₹7,000 – ₹9,500 for a non-AC 3+2, and an AC coach ₹12,500 – ₹18,000 against ₹9,500 – ₹14,000 non-AC. Outstation, the AC premium is roughly ₹6 – ₹15 per km. AC coaches usually carry a lower km minimum (200 – 250 km) but a higher per-km rate.
For a 45-seat AC coach, two calendar days are billed on 2 × the 200 – 250 km daily minimum at ₹55 – ₹70 per km, so ₹22,000 – ₹35,000 for the bus, plus 2 bata days (₹1,600 – ₹2,000), tolls, Tirumala parking and 5% GST. A one-day darshan run on the same coach works out to ₹26,000 – ₹36,000 all-in.
If the bus holds an All India Tourist Permit (AITP), no Karnataka border tax, composite tax or check-post tax can be charged under the 2023 rules. On a Tamil Nadu state permit, the Karnataka entry tax for a 35 – 49 seater is typically ₹15,000 – ₹35,000 per entry. We put AITP vehicles on every Bangalore, Tirupati and Kerala run and show the saving on the quote.
A written quote is free. To confirm the bus and date we take a 25% advance, share the driver's name and bus registration the day before, and collect the balance when the trip completes, on a GST invoice at 5%. Cancellation terms are printed on every quote so you know the position before you pay a rupee.
The figures are seats on each side of the aisle. A 17 or 20-seat tempo traveller is 2+1, a non-AC 21 – 55 seater is 3+2 (five across, tighter but cheaper), and AC minibuses and coaches are 2+2 (four across, usually pushback). For a trip over 4 hours, a 2+2 layout is worth the ₹6 – ₹15 per km difference.
A written quote with the class, the km basis and the bata-day count — on WhatsApp within 2 hours, 6 am to 11 pm, every day.