Charter Bus Prices: How to Calculate the Cost of Your Detroit Bus Rental

The cost of renting a charter bus in Detroit depends on a lot of factors, including when you’re traveling, how many people are in your group, how long the trip will take, and even where you need to park. You can always get an accurate, no-obligation quote by calling Detroit Charter Bus Company at (313) 558-8239.

Detroit skyline at sunset

But sometimes it’s helpful to have an estimate so you can start planning. If you want a rough idea of how much your bus may cost, here’s a chart that shows the average cost of charter buses and minibuses in the Detroit Charter Bus Company network.

Type of Bus	Per Hour	Per Day	Per Mile
Charter Bus	$139–$159	$1,200–$1,300	$4.20–$4.80
Minibus	$125–$144	$1,080–$1,170	$3.78–$4.32

How We Calculate Your Price

As we mentioned, the prices above are only a rough starting point. How do we calculate your actual price? We take into account the following factors:

When you’re traveling: Charter buses cost more during the busy season, which is usually between April and June—the time of graduations, end-of-year field trips, and sports games. Pricing may also be affected by major events in Detroit, like the North American International Auto Show.
The length of your trip: We usually charge per hour for 1-day trips and per day or per mile for longer trips. If your trip will last several nights, you’ll also need to pay for lodging for your driver, which will increase your cost.
How many people you’re bringing: Full-sized charter buses can hold up to 56 people, so you may need multiple buses if you’re bringing several hundred people. Or maybe you need a combination of charter buses and minibuses. Either way, the price will be affected.
Other costs that may come up: If you have special requests for amenities, like WiFi or reclining seats, those may affect the cost of your bus. You’ll also have to cover any tolls or parking costs that arise during the trip, and those expenses won’t be included in your initial estimate. Finally, we recommend giving your driver a tip of around 10%.

To help you with your planning, we’ve provided a few examples of different trips and how much they may cost.

Day Out at Comerica Park

Comerica Park outfield with players

Image Credit

A local company wants to take its employees on a day trip to see the Tigers play. Since the company has 102 employees, they’ll need two full-size charter buses. They want to be picked up at their office an hour before the game starts, dropped off at the stadium, and driven back to the office parking lot once the game is over.

They’ll only need the buses for the day, so they’ll be charged by the hour. They estimate having the buses for about 6 hours. Luckily, Comerica Park has free parking for charter buses, so they won’t need to pay for that.

We estimate that the company will pay $150 per bus, per hour. They also want to tip their drivers 5% each.

2 buses for 6 hours: $1,800
Drivers’ tips: $180 ($90 each)
Total: $1,980

Field Trip to The Henry Ford Museum

Old buildings at The Henry Ford Museum

A teacher from Akron wants to bring her AP U.S. History students to Detroit to visit The Henry Ford Museum. They’ll also stop by the Detroit Zoo before heading home. Their entire trip will take 3 days, and 22 students will be going.

The school opts to rent a 25-person minibus, and they’ll be charged $1,100 per day. The route has tolls they’ll need to pay each way, and they estimate those will cost about $6. Parking at The Henry Ford costs $6, while parking at the Detroit Zoo costs $8.

Since they’re staying for two nights, the school will also need to pay for the driver’s lodging at their hotel, which will cost $80 per night. They plan to tip their driver roughly 10%.

1 minibus for 3 days: $3,300
Tolls and parking: $20
Driver’s lodging for 2 nights: $160
Driver’s tip: $350
Total: $3,830

Wedding at the Detroit Marriott

Wedding couple whispering to each other

Ben and Beverly plan to get married at the Detroit Marriott inside the GM Renaissance Center, but many of their guests are staying at the less expensive Westin hotel in Southfield. They want to set up a bus to take their guests from their hotel to the rehearsal dinner and back, and then to the ceremony, the reception, and the hotel the next day. 50 guests are attending the wedding, so they’ve chosen to rent a single charter bus.

The bus will cost $1,200 per day. They won’t have to pay any tolls, and since the Westin Southfield has free parking, they won’t have to pay for parking either. However, they will have to pay for the driver’s lodging at $130 per night, and they want to give the driver a tip of roughly 10%.

1 bus for 2 days: $2,400
Driver’s lodging for 1 night: $130
Driver’s tip: $255
Total: $2,785

Estimate the Cost of Your Charter Bus Rental in Detroit