Minibus rentals with driver: the 18-to-35-passenger sizes, priced from real trips
Luggage
Outlets
TV
Wifi
- Conventions
- Corporate outings
- Corporate travel
- Economy Transportation
- Employee shuttle
- Events
- Fraternity / Sorority Outings
- Group Events
- Local travel
- Off-site parking lot shuttles
- Private airport shuttle
- Small Groups
- Smaller Groups
- Weddings shuttles
- Worker Transportation to/from works sites
Metropolitan Shuttle: September, 2026
A minibus with a professional driver runs $150 to $200 per hour or $1,500 to $1,900 per day on Metropolitan Shuttle’s published 2026 rates, across a size ladder from 18 to 35 seats, and recent real trips billed $845 to $1,695. A minibus is a real bus scaled down, a center aisle, forward-facing seats, a front door, and a driver, small enough to clear hotel valet circles and residential streets that turn a full coach around. Metropolitan Shuttle arranges every size in every major US market and across Canada.
Key takeaways
Minibus Rate Range
One rate band covers the family: $150 to $200 per hour or $1,500 to $1,900 per day, with a 4- to 5-hour minimum; driver, fuel, and insurance in the quote.
Real-World Trip Pricing
Recent invoices bracket real trips from $845 for a one-way airport transfer to $1,695 per day for multi-stop touring work; trip shape, not mileage, sets the number.
Choose the Right Bus Size
Pick the size by honest headcount plus a couple of spare seats: 18, 20, 25, 28, 30, or 35 passengers; past 35 you’re in coach territory with restrooms and luggage bays.
Plan for Restroom Stops
Minibuses do not usually carry an onboard restroom, the trade the whole class makes for maneuverability, so runs past a couple of hours get a planned stop or a coach instead.
What did real 25-passenger minibus trips cost?
The 25-seat size is the family’s workhorse, and these are some recent invoices; full narratives live on the city pages.
| Trip | Market | Price |
|---|---|---|
| LAX to an Anaheim resort hotel, 22 passengers, one-way drop-off | Los Angeles | $845 |
| Penn Station-area pickup to a New Jersey office, all-inclusive transfer | New York City | $945 |
| University residence hall to the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, 8:15 am out, 1 pm return, 24 students, June 2026 | Denver | $965 |
| Campus-to-campus round trip with a midday layover | Los Angeles | $1,300 |
| Charleston hotel to a Johns Island yacht harbor and back, 5:15 pm out, 9:15 pm return, September 2026 | Charleston, SC | $1,450 |
The spread is the lesson, and so is the consistency. The three short runs at the top, a one-way in Los Angeles, a transfer in New York, a museum morning in Denver, billed within $120 of each other: a short 25-passenger run costs about nine hundred dollars in market after market, because the vehicle-and-driver commitment, not the city or the odometer, sets the floor. Below them, a round trip holding the driver through a midday layover and a committed Charleston evening bill for the window they consume. Ask your coordinator to quote your trip both ways when the shape allows it.
Which minibus size does your group need?
At 15 to 18, the 18-passenger keeps the smallest footprint. Twenty to 25 riders is the workhorse zone this page’s invoices come from. The 28-passenger and 30-passenger sizes carry church groups, teams, and wedding blocks that outgrew the middle of the ladder, and the 35-passenger is the touring workhorse, the smallest vehicle that comfortably does an airport arrival day with luggage. Below the family sits the shuttle van at 12 to 14 seats; above it, the 40-passenger and 56-passenger coaches add restrooms and underfloor bays. Onboard across the family: reclining seats, climate control, USB power, Bluetooth audio and PA, overhead compartments, and rear luggage space; wheelchair-accessible vehicles are available, see ADA-accessible buses.
Frequently Asked Questions
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