Chennai to Bangalore Cab Fare
The busiest intercity corridor in south India and the most price-fought. Real fares, the Karnataka minimum that changes the arithmetic, and an honest comparison with the app that owns this route.
In short
Chennai to Bangalore is 330 – 350 km and takes about 8 hours. A one-way drop is ₹4,892 – 5,634 in a sedan and ₹6,900 – 7,741 in an Innova. A two-day round trip in a sedan lands around ₹8,800 – 10,300 before tax, against a 300 km per day Karnataka minimum plus ₹500 – 600 bata a day.
Reviewed 20 September 2026 · fares, the Karnataka minimum and permit treatment re-checked each quarter
Chennai → Bangalore fare by vehicle
One-way as the market quotes it, and the two-day round trip worked from the published rate against Karnataka's higher 300 km daily minimum.
| Vehicle | One-way drop | 2-day round trip, billed km | Kilometre charge | Bata, 2 days | 2-day total before tax |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sedan — Dzire, Etios | ₹4,892 – 5,634 | 600 km minimum, ~660 – 700 km actual | ₹7,800 – 9,100 | ₹1,000 – 1,200 | ₹8,800 – 10,300 |
| Innova — 7+1 | ₹6,900 – 7,741 | ~660 – 700 km at ₹17 – 18 | ₹11,220 – 12,600 | ₹1,200 | ₹12,420 – 13,800 |
| Innova Crysta — 7+1 | Quoted on ₹21 – 26 per km | ~660 – 700 km at ₹20 – 23 | ₹13,200 – 16,100 | ₹1,400 – 1,600 | ₹14,600 – 17,700 |
| Tempo Traveller 12 – 14 | Quoted on ₹24 – 27 per km | ~660 – 700 km at ₹21 – 25 | ₹13,860 – 17,500 | ₹1,400 – 1,600 | ₹15,260 – 19,100 |
The Karnataka minimum, and why it matters here more than anywhere
Every other route on this site bills round trips against a 250 kilometre per day minimum. Karnataka is the exception: 300 kilometres a day. On a two-day Bangalore round trip that is a 600 kilometre floor rather than 500, and it is a real ₹1,300 on a sedan before you have driven anything.
In practice the actual distance usually clears it — a Chennai to Bangalore return is around 660 to 700 kilometres garage to garage — so the minimum rarely sets the bill on a straightforward there-and-back. It bites on the trips people do not think of as minimum-sensitive: a three-day booking where you sit in Bangalore for a day and drive very little, which carries a 900 kilometre floor whether the car moves or not.
The second Karnataka line is the inter-state permit. A Tamil Nadu commercial vehicle crossing into Karnataka needs one, it is paid at the border, and it is never inside a per-kilometre rate. It goes on your quote as a named line and the receipt comes back with the car — the same treatment we give the Andhra Pradesh permit on the Tirupati run.
An honest word about competing on this route
We will say plainly what a marketing page normally would not: this is the hardest route in our set to compete on, and it is not the one we would steer you to us for.
The intercity product from the large ride-hailing app publishes Chennai to Bangalore at ₹5,460 for its economy tier, ₹7,725 for a sedan and ₹7,741 for an XL, over 331 kilometres and about eight hours. A large travel site quotes an Innova from ₹10,063. Hundreds of drop-taxi operators fight the same corridor at ₹13 to ₹15 a kilometre. It is a commodity, the margins are thin, and on a straight one-way drop for one person the app is often the sensible buy.
Where we are genuinely better is where their model stops: a round trip with the car held at the other end, a multi-stop run, a 12 to 14 seat group in one vehicle, a driver you can speak to the evening before, and an invoice your company can actually book. If what you need is a single seat-of-the-pants drop, use the app and we will not be offended. If you need any of the other five things, the numbers above are ours and they hold.
Eight hours, and how to make them survivable
Eight hours is the honest figure for 330 to 350 kilometres, and it is longer than the road distance suggests because the exits from both cities are slow. Leaving Chennai at eight in the morning means an hour of the eight is spent getting out of Chennai; leaving at six means it is not.
For one-way drops between 11 pm and 5 am a ₹200 night charge applies, and a driver doing this corridor overnight is doing a genuinely demanding shift. We will run it — it is a normal booking on this route — but we plan the driver's rest rather than turning the car around at the other end.
Driver bata on this route sits at ₹500 to ₹600 a day for a sedan on a round trip. On a one-way drop past 400 kilometres a sedan's bata steps from ₹400 to ₹600, and Chennai to Bangalore is comfortably past that line, so expect the higher figure on your quote — named, as always, rather than collected in cash at the far end.
Questions we answer daily
What is the cab fare from Chennai to Bangalore?
A one-way drop is ₹4,892 to ₹5,634 in a sedan and ₹6,900 to ₹7,741 in an Innova, over 330 to 350 km and about eight hours. A two-day round trip in a sedan is roughly ₹8,800 to ₹10,300 before tax, against Karnataka's 300 km per day minimum plus ₹500 to ₹600 bata a day.
Why is the minimum 300 km a day for Bangalore?
Because Karnataka round trips are billed against a 300 km daily minimum instead of the 250 km that applies elsewhere. On a two-day trip that is a 600 km floor rather than 500 — about ₹1,300 more on a sedan before anything is driven. The actual distance usually clears it; a stationary day in Bangalore does not.
Is the Karnataka permit included in the fare?
No. A Tamil Nadu commercial vehicle crossing into Karnataka needs an inter-state permit, paid at the border and billed at actuals with the receipt returned. It is never inside the ₹13 sedan or ₹17 – 18 Innova per-km rate, and any all-inclusive Bangalore quote that omits it has either padded the rate or deferred the conversation to the driver.
Is a cab cheaper than the intercity app to Bangalore?
On a single one-way drop, often not — the app publishes ₹5,460 for its economy tier and ₹7,725 for a sedan on this corridor, and we will say so rather than pretend otherwise. A cab wins on round trips with the car held at the other end, multi-stop runs, groups of 12 to 14 in one vehicle and an invoice a company can book.
How long does the drive from Chennai to Bangalore take?
About eight hours for 330 to 350 kilometres. The distance is not what makes it long — the exits from both cities are. Leaving Chennai at six in the morning rather than eight removes roughly an hour of the eight before you have gone anywhere.
Is there a night charge on a Chennai to Bangalore drop?
Yes, ₹200 on one-way drop trips running between 11 pm and 5 am, stated on the quote. We do run this corridor overnight — it is a normal booking here — but we plan the driver's rest at the other end rather than turning the vehicle straight around.
How much driver bata applies on this route?
₹500 to ₹600 a day for a sedan on a round trip and ₹600 for an Innova. On a one-way drop a sedan's bata steps from ₹400 to ₹600 past 400 kilometres, and Chennai to Bangalore is comfortably past that, so the higher figure applies — named on the quote, not collected in cash at the destination.
Can a tempo traveller do Chennai to Bangalore?
Yes, at ₹24 to ₹27 a kilometre on a drop and ₹21 to ₹25 on a round trip, with ₹700 to ₹800 a day bata and the Karnataka permit at actuals. A two-day round trip runs roughly ₹15,260 to ₹19,100 before tax. For 17 seats and above, our bus division at chennaibusrentals.com handles the corridor.
Related pages
- One-way drop taxi How the commodity end really prices
- Full Chennai rate card Minimums, bata and permits
- Chennai to Madurai taxi 456 km, the other long haul
- Innova and Crysta The eight-hour vehicles
- Corporate rental Intercity runs on account
- Fare calculator Karnataka minimum built in
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