Charter Bus Pricing

There are countless reasons to rent a charter bus. Whether you are out with a big group of friends to celebrate a birthday or wedding, attending a family reunion, or on a company-wide retreat, group travel is effortless with a charter bus rental. 

When most people think of a charter bus, they likely think of a large motor coach. However, there are 12 different types of charter buses:

• Motorcoach
• Minibus
• Executive coach
• Party bus
• School bus
• Tour bus
• Trolley
• Double-decker
• Van
• Limo
• Black car
• SUV

No matter what your needs are, there’s a bus rental to match. Keep reading to learn more about charter bus pricing.

Why Charter a Bus?

Before we discuss the price to rent a charter bus, let’s explore the reasons why you might need to rent a bus:

1. Need a comfortable way to travel: If you’re traveling, whether it’s across town or across the country, a charter bus rental will give you the most relaxing trip.
2. Have many people going to the same event: Coordinating different cars can be a nightmare, especially for long trips. Some people might get lost or stuck in traffic, leading to everyone arriving at a different time. If you have many people attending the same event, a charter bus ensures everyone arrives safely and at the same time. 
3. Want to impress clients: Making a good impression is especially important in the business world. If you want to wow your clients, charter a bus to pick them up and take them to your meeting.
4. Going on a tour: For multi-day trips, such as traveling to multiple cities or a music group going on tour, a charter bus can carry all the personnel and supplies you need.
5. Need an eco-friendly option: According to a recent study, buses beat out air travel and train travel as the greenest way to get around.

For these reasons, among many others, chartering a bus is a great solution for many travel scenarios. Now, let’s get into how much a charter bus costs.

How Much Does it Cost to Charter a Bus?

When you think of the price of a charter bus, you might worry that the cost is too exorbitant for your budget. Luckily, there’s as much range in prices as there is in the types of buses you can charter. Determining the best bus for your event can help keep costs down and ensure everyone has a comfortable ride.

The cost to rent a charter bus depends on the number of people at your party and the kind of bus you choose. If you’re renting an executive coach for a few people, your price per person will be much higher than if you have a large group. A school bus has fewer features, but the cost will be significantly lower compared to a party bus or a double-decker bus. 

Group travel pricing also depends on the nature of your trip. For activities like field trips and college events, charging per person keeps the total price down, but it’s important to know how many people are coming. Other methods of payment might include daily, hourly or per-mile rates.

Bus Rental Pricing

How much does it cost to rent a bus? If you have an event in which you need to coordinate transportation for a group larger than 5 or 6, a bus rental is a fantastic choice. Continue reading to learn more about all the different events you might need to charter a bus for.

Wedding Charter Pricing

Weddings are a flurry of events, plans, and people. Coordination is of the utmost importance for the couple’s special day, and no one wants to get stuck in traffic or lost and miss out on any of the festivities. Having safe, reliable transportation can prevent planning the day from becoming a headache. 

Whether you need transportation to the wedding, between the wedding and the reception or from the reception to home, chartering a bus can help make the day as safe and seamless as possible. 

For luxury rides for the bride’s and groom’s parties, try a party bus. These coaches are designed to look like a limo on the inside, but they’re much more spacious. If you have many guests to shuttle to the reception, choose a minibus or motorcoach. The charter bus rental price for these options varies by type and the number of guests.

School Event and Field Trip Charter Pricing

Schools large and small need safe transportation for field trips. Elementary field trips to museums or the zoo can be difficult to coordinate if parents are all driving separately. Providing a chartered bus so that all students leave school and arrive back on time can prevent the loss of class time.

High schools have a multitude of transportation needs. Whether you’re traveling to sports games, academic competitions, or dances, a charter bus can simplify the logistics for these events and ensure all students arrive safely. It also saves parents from having to shuttle their kids back and forth.

For younger students, nothing beats the thrill of riding on a school bus on a field trip. The benefits of this type of transportation are that it keeps costs down and has plenty of room for chaperones to catch a ride. With all their backpacks and sports gear, high schoolers will benefit from a larger coach bus with storage on the bottom. 

Family Reunion Charter Pricing

Some families plan reunions every year, others every five years. Family reunions are a fantastic way to reconnect with distant family members and even get to know new additions to the family tree. Families large and small can benefit from reliable and simple group transportation by chartering a bus.

For smaller families, sprinters or vans are a great, economical option that doesn’t cost too much or have too much excess space. However, if you have a huge family you need to coordinate transportation for, a motorcoach or executive coach is a better option. If your family reunion includes a fun night out on the town, spice things up with a party bus to take you to and from your destinations.

 If you’d like a quote to rent a bus for your next family reunion, contact BusRates.com.

Corporate Charter Pricing

When you’re planning a corporate event such as a retreat, convention or company-wide meeting, having transportation to and from the event can make the logistics easier to navigate. For retreats and outings, providing a luxury coach bus for your employees will help increase attendance. They’ll appreciate you going the extra mile. 

Sometimes you might need to charter a bus to pick up clients for meetings and other events. Make a great impression by providing luxury accommodations for their transportation. Some charters, such as party buses, may even allow refreshments on board to really wow your clients. 

Charter bus costs for corporate events can be as economical or luxurious as you like. Depending on the event, a school bus might introduce an element of nostalgia for a corporate retreat in the woods. If you’re heading to a professional convention, a coach bus will provide plenty of seats and enough room for gear.

Convention Charter Pricing

Conventions are often huge events requiring a lot of coordination and logistics. They involve large numbers of people and hundreds of different activities or booths. Conventions offer great opportunities to meet new people who share similar interests or professions, but difficulties with parking and traffic come along too. 

Skip the traffic and parking fees by riding in a chartered bus to your next convention. Renting a bus means you can arrive in comfort and have plenty of space for all your supplies. If you are hosting a booth at the convention, most motorcoaches have large storage compartments that can fit even large equipment. 

For a charter bus quote, contact the best bus rental site, BusRates.com. 

Disaster Relief Charter Pricing 

Disasters occur, and when they do, it’s easy for things to descend into chaos. At such a tragic time, rescuers and relief personnel need to have reliable transportation to ensure rescue operations go smoothly. Chartering a bus has many useful applications in disaster relief scenarios, from transporting rescuers and first responders to and from the scene for their shifts to gathering victims and families to transport them out of harm’s way. 

Using buses and vans is a much more efficient means of transportation, as it prevents congestion and helps control crowds. For the best and most efficient transportation during disaster relief, a motorcoach or executive coach will have plenty of room to transport both first responders and those affected by the disaster.

College and Greek Life Charter Pricing

Colleges have many transportation needs for the various sports, clubs, and social events on campus. A sports team may need a comfortable ride with plenty of room for storing their equipment. Clubs might need transportation to and from meetings and conventions. A Greek organization might need safe transportation to and from events like dances and socials. 

The answer to all these varied transportation needs is to charter a bus. With seating for up to 60 people, motorcoaches and executive coaches have plenty of room for large sports teams and Greek organizations. For smaller clubs, a van or minibus is a perfect choice. By matching the type of bus with the number of people attending, you can find an economical charter bus rental cost. 

Sports Team Charter Pricing

From Little League to professional sports, most teams need to travel for games and competitions. Arriving on time is important, especially since some sports require teams to forfeit the game if they are late to arrive. Sports like lacrosse, hockey, and football require a lot of protective gear and equipment, so they need plenty of storage. To relieve the burden on parents, sports teams can charter a bus to take the team to games and competitions.

Rather than charging per ride, teams can build the charter bus fees into their fundraising goals or add them to their team budget. Larger teams can utilize charters that fit 40 to 60 passengers, and smaller teams can save money by choosing an option for 25 to 30 passengers.

Public Events and Festivals Charter Pricing

For public events and festivals, especially those involving alcohol, attendees need safe and reliable transportation. Since most events face struggles with having enough space for parking, offering buses to shuttle people from the parking lot to the event will help solve issues with parking and make the event more accessible. 

Charter buses offer a comfortable journey, but if the bus rental price is a little steep for the event budget, there are more affordable options such as vans and even trolleys for a more whimsical ride. 

Political Charter Pricing

A benchmark of political campaigns is traveling to visit the places voters live. For someone running for city council, that might just involve a ride around town. However, for state or national legislature, the whole party will need to cover a lot of ground. These trips might even involve overnight rides and multi-day trips.

To ensure the whole team is comfortable and able to meet and strategize if needed, a tour bus offers the very best accommodations. With sleeping quarters and many of the comforts of home, these buses will provide the most comfortable ride for politicians to travel to their voters.

What Determines the Cost of a Charter Bus?

If the idea of bus travel pricing confuses you, there’s no need to fear. There are certain quantifiable factors that influence bus travel costs.

Distance and Duration

The distance traveled and the length of the rental both factor into the price of a bus charter. Traveling around town will naturally garner a lower cost than a cross-country trip. Similarly, you’ll pay more for a longer, multi-day rental compared to a rental for just a few hours. However, it’s important to know that buses like tour buses may only offer long-term contracts, such as a few weeks to months. Assess the nature of your trip and be sure to look at all the fine print. 

Time of Year

Like most businesses, bus rentals have busy periods and off-seasons. The spring and summer months tend to be busier for travel than the winter months. If you’re looking for the most economical trip, scheduled for the off-season. If you need to travel during the busy season, your prices might be higher due to higher demand and longer hours for drivers — plus the added upkeep and gas costs for the buses and vans. 

Location

Another factor that determines the price of your bus charter is the pick-up and drop-off city. Major cities are more likely to have greater availability for different types of bus charters compared to smaller towns. At the same time, however, driving through some big cities may cost more in fees and tolls.

Trip Type 

The trip type — whether you’re going one way or taking a round trip — also influences how many bus rentals cost. A longer round trip will be more cost-effective than a one-way trip. The reason for this cost-effectiveness is that one-way trips are much less common, and in some scenarios, the driver is bringing an empty bus back to the place of origin.

Travel Fees

Route travel fees also influence the price of the bus rental. Tolls, congestion taxes, and parking fees might make the drive more expensive. Other fees related to traveling include room and board for the driver if it’s an overnight or multi-day trip. Similarly, it’s customary to add an additional tip for the driver. This tip is generally around 10% of the cost of the charter, but you can definitely add in a little extra for exceptional service.

Required Amenities

Most buses come with certain amenities as standard onboard features. Other amenities you might prefer, including restrooms, Wi-Fi, movie screenings, and smartphone chargers, may add to the final cost. 

Type of Bus

Naturally, the type of bus will impact the final cost of the charter. If you want to go the economical route, school buses and smaller vans will be a great cost-effective option. Luxury options such as party buses and executive coaches will cost more but offer more amenities and comfort. Additionally, newer models of the same type of bus might have a drastically different price point than older models due to changes in the interior and amenities. 

How to Save on Your Bus Charter

 If you want to save on your bus rental quote, follow these essential tips.

1. Book Early

Booking early will save you money on most things relating to travel. With higher availability, you’ll often get lower rates. Some companies also have a temporary cancellation period in which you can get a refund on your deposit, so booking early can ensure you’re able to get your money back in the event your plans change.

Another benefit of booking early is that you can be sure to get the exact model of bus you want. If you have specific requirements or need a certain type of bus, early scheduling can ensure the bus you need is available when you need it.

2. Consider Per-Person Costs

To save on a quote for bus rental, first, consider your budget for per-person costs. If passengers are paying for their own fare, get their input into how much they can spend and what amenities they’ll need. For example, if they’d rather forgo a bathroom to pay a lower price, that will factor greatly into your choice. Dividing the total rate — plus a 10% tip for the driver — by the number of people will give you a good picture of the per-person price. 

Even if passengers aren’t paying for their share of the fare, considering the per-person price will help you determine if you’re getting the best value. Looking at a lump sum price might get confusing, so breaking it down by the number of passengers can clarify which bus is worth the cost.

3. Finalize Headcount

One of the most important ways you can save yourself money is to finalize the headcount for your trip. If you only have a rough estimate, then the pricing might differ significantly between getting a quote to charter a bus and your final booking cost. If you underestimate, you may not have enough room for the people on the trip. If you overestimate, you might cause passengers to pay a higher price. 

If you can, finalize a headcount before you even begin looking at prices to travel by bus. When you start looking at quotes, you’ll be able to get the most accurate prices.

4. Schedule for the Off-Season

The off-season for most transportation and travel companies falls in the winter months. Spring and summer can be hectic, which drives up costs and lowers availability. Scheduling your bus travel for the off-season will cut down on costs since demand is lower during this time. You’ll have a wider range of available types of buses and likely have an easier time booking things last minute if needed.

Charter a Bus With Busrates.com

Don’t get lost in a sea of different companies and pricing. You can skip the middleman with Busrates.com, as we have access to hundreds of bus operators and travel providers across the US and Canada.

For the best bus travel prices, request a quote with us and see how simple chartering a bus can be!