Bloomington Charter Bus Rental FAQs
About Bloomingtonmncharterbusrentals.com
Bloomingtonmncharterbusrentals.com is an advertising and quote comparison website that lets you compare bus rental options and pricing from a network of bus companies serving Bloomington through a national booking company. Instead of calling five local operators and waiting on callbacks, you fill out one quick form and land on a results page showing vehicles, pricing, and photos in seconds. Bloomingtonmncharterbusrentals.com is an advertising and referral website — it does not own or operate vehicles — so you're always comparing across a network rather than being limited to one fleet.
No — Bloomingtonmncharterbusrentals.com is a comparison and referral website. In practical terms, that means you come here to compare vehicles and pricing from a network of independently owned transportation companies serving the Bloomington area, then book directly through a national booking platform. The transportation itself is carried out by those independent operators. Bloomingtonmncharterbusrentals.com connects you to the options; the companies in the network carry out the trip.
You fill out one form or make one call to 612-230-4115 and immediately see more options and different price points than you would get by reaching out to a single local company. Searching on your own means calling around, describing your trip over and over, and waiting on callbacks that may never come. Here, you describe the trip once and the results page does the comparing for you — vehicles, amenities, and pricing side by side, in the time it takes to make one phone call.
An independently owned transportation company serving Bloomington. Once you fill out the quote form, you're taken to a national booking platform where you choose the vehicle that suits the trip — what you're selecting there is a vehicle and a price, not a company from a list. The transportation company assigned to the booking is confirmed to you after booking is complete.
The network behind the platform covers the Bloomington area, so there are many options available for your date.
Booking a Charter Bus
Fill out the form on this page — your pickup city, destination, passenger count, date, and trip times — or call 612-230-4115 and go through it with someone directly. Once submitted, you're taken to a search results page on a national booking company's website. That booking company partners with independent operators serving the Bloomington area, and right there on their site you see available vehicles with pricing.
What you're choosing is a vehicle and a price, and you book it directly on their platform in minutes.
Your pickup city, where you're going, how many people are riding, and how many hours you need the bus. That's enough to get a quote started. The more detail you give — your stops, start and end times, how much luggage the group is bringing, and any amenities you need — the more accurate the quote comes back and the better the deal you can find.
A complete itinerary gets you better pricing than a rough outline.
Right away — there's no waiting on a callback. As soon as you submit the form, you go straight to the search results page and see quotes on the booking company's website. No account required, no waiting period, no phone tag.
If you'd rather talk through the trip with someone, call 612-230-4115 and a live agent will walk you through available options and help put together a package that fits.
The earlier the better on a popular date, and a larger group or a specific vehicle type should go further ahead. That said, because this site puts your request in front of a whole network of providers serving the area rather than one operator with one yard, short-notice trips are often still workable — that's the advantage of comparing a network instead of calling a single company and being told no. Submit the request or call 612-230-4115 even on short notice.
The results page shows what's available for your date, and you may find more options than you expected.
All of those can be requested. Hourly or as-directed keeps the vehicle with the group for a set block of time, moving on your schedule. A one-way transfer moves the group from one place to another with no return.
A round trip brings everyone back to the starting point. A multi-stop itinerary runs a set route with several stops along the way — a winery loop, a stadium crawl, a wedding shuttle circuit. A multi-day booking covers a trip that runs across more than one calendar day.
Which format fits comes down to the trip itself. A multi-stop or overnight itinerary should be laid out in full with the request so it comes back priced correctly the first time.
Charter Bus Pricing
A charter bus costs $205–$385+ per hour on weekdays, $225–$410+ per hour on weekends, and $1,650–$2,950+ per day. Those are planning ranges, not your price — there are different packages and a number of things that move a quote up or down, so the range is a starting point. The fastest way to see what your specific trip costs is to fill out the form online and see pricing for your actual date and route in seconds.
Or call 612-230-4115 — going through the trip with someone can turn up better pricing and packages than you'd find searching on your own.
It depends on the trip, and all three are used. A short trip of a couple of hours is usually priced hourly. A trip that runs long distance — roughly past the 100- to 200-mile mark, or heading well out of the Bloomington area toward a destination like Chicago or Kansas City — may carry a per-mile charge instead of an hourly rate.
A long day, generally around eight hours or more, often comes back as a day rate rather than stacked hours, simply because the vehicle is booked for so much of the day. Submitting the actual trip — your route, your timing, your stops — is what determines which structure applies. Call 612-230-4115 if you want someone to work through it with you.
Six things move the price: the type and size of bus, how long it's booked for, the date and day of the week, the distance and route, the number of stops, and how busy that date is locally. Sunday through Thursday prices lower than Friday and Saturday, and daytime prices lower than those same evenings — so if your event has any flexibility, a Tuesday or Wednesday trip can come back noticeably cheaper than a Saturday night. Booking the size the group actually needs beats over-booking capacity.
And grouping riders into one or two pickup points instead of five cuts the hours on the clock, which cuts the bill. In Bloomington, the Mall of America area and the I-494 corridor see heavy demand on weekend evenings, so trips that start or end there on a Saturday night tend to price toward the top of the range. Submit the full route and the results page will show what's available for your specific trip.
About Charter Buses
A charter bus is a full-size passenger coach that a group hires exclusively for its own trip — its own route, its own schedule, its own stops — rather than riding a fixed public route with other passengers. It's built for moving a large group over a distance in one vehicle, and a standard full-size coach seats roughly 40 to 56 people. The group goes where it needs to go, on the timeline it sets, without sharing the ride with strangers.
Outside, a full-size charter bus is a tall, long coach body with high tinted windows running the length of both sides and luggage bay doors along the lower skirt. The exterior is usually finished in white, silver, black, or a solid color, though some coaches are wrapped in an operator's own graphics — so the coach that pulls up may not always look the same. Inside, you'll find forward-facing seats arranged in pairs on either side of a center aisle, with fabric that may be cloth or leather depending on the make and model.
Overhead parcel racks run the full length of the cabin, and a restroom sits toward the rear. Common full-size models include the MCI J4500, the Van Hool CX45, and the Prevost H3-45 — all 45-foot coaches with the same general layout, varying in seat finish, interior trim, and amenity configuration.
Some of the amenities available on charter buses include reclining cloth or leather seats, individual climate controls, onboard restrooms, overhead parcel racks and undercarriage luggage bays, WiFi, 110-volt power outlets and USB charging ports, a PA system with wireless mic, and flat-panel TV monitors. Features may include any or all of these depending on the make, model, and operator — no specific vehicle is guaranteed to carry every item on that list, and exact features are confirmed during booking. If there's an amenity the group needs, note it with the trip details so the results page can narrow to vehicles that have it.
Generally 40 to 56 passengers, depending on the make and model, with 56 the most common build on a full-size coach. The MCI J4500 seats 56 as standard and is built for up to 60; the Van Hool CX45 is the same — 56 standard, up to 60; the Prevost H3-45 seats 56. Shorter 35-foot coaches seat closer to 44.
What changes the count on the same coach: extra legroom configurations and wheelchair positions each take seats out of the total. Because this website works with a network of providers, the exact coach on any given trip depends on what's available for your date, so submit the trip or call 612-230-4115 if the group needs a specific capacity confirmed before booking.
A 56-passenger coach runs 14 rows, with two seats on each side of a center aisle — four seats across per row, all forward-facing. The row count drops on coaches built with extra legroom or a wheelchair position, since those configurations take space that would otherwise hold a row. Some coaches also tier the front rows slightly for sightlines.
The layout is straightforward: one aisle down the middle, paired seating on both sides, 14 rows deep on a standard 56-seat build.
A full-size charter bus is 45 feet long and 8.5 feet wide. To put that in terms most people can picture: roughly three cars parked end to end. That's the number that matters when a group is figuring out whether a coach fits a venue's loading area, a parking structure approach, or a tight residential street.
Shorter coaches exist — most commonly around 35 feet — but the 45-foot coach is the standard full-size vehicle and the one most commonly available through the network.
A full-size charter bus stands about 11 to 12 feet tall depending on the model, and traffic engineers design overhead clearances for 12 feet. A practical comparison: a little taller than a single story of a house. That's the number that matters when a group is checking a parking structure, a covered loading dock, or a low bridge on the route.
The 12-foot figure is the one to use when confirming clearance with a venue, since that's what the standard full-size coach requires.
WiFi is one of the amenities available on charter buses, and many coaches on the road today are equipped with it. Onboard WiFi is a piece of equipment a coach is built with rather than something every coach carries, so whether a given vehicle has it varies by make, model, and operator — it's confirmed during booking. One thing worth knowing before the trip: onboard WiFi runs off a cellular connection and is built for light use across a full coach — phones, messaging, browsing — not for 50 or 60 people doing bandwidth-heavy work at once.
If the group needs WiFi, note it with the trip details so the results page narrows to vehicles that have it.
Yes — an onboard restroom is standard on full-size charter buses, sitting toward the rear of the coach. It's there so the group doesn't have to stop, and on a long run the trip is still usually planned with real rest stops along the way. Whether a specific vehicle includes one may vary, so if an onboard restroom matters for the trip — a long haul from Bloomington to a destination several hours out, or a group with accessibility needs — note it with the trip details so the right coach is matched to the booking.
Yes — charter buses are built with 110-volt AC power outlets, and coaches are commonly fitted with them at or near every seat, some with a USB port built into the same outlet. This is an equipment option rather than something every coach carries, so it varies by vehicle and is confirmed during booking. In practical terms, a group can keep phones and laptops charged across a long run from Bloomington to Minneapolis, Chicago, or beyond without hunting for a plug at a rest stop.
If the group needs outlets, note it with the trip details.
Yes — in two places. Overhead parcel racks run the full length of the cabin inside, and undercarriage baggage bays sit underneath the coach along the lower skirt. A full-size coach carries roughly 460 cubic feet of underfloor baggage space and around 100 cubic feet in the overhead racks.
Across a full 56-passenger load, that works out to roughly 8 cubic feet per person underneath and under 2 overhead — in practice, about one checked-size bag each below plus one small carry-on above. What changes it: a coach fitted with a wheelchair lift gives up some baggage bay space, and bulky gear like instruments, sports equipment, or event supplies takes the space of several bags. State luggage and any oversized items with the trip details so the right coach is matched to the group before booking.
Charter Bus Service in Bloomington, Minnesota
The network serves all of them. Airport transfers to and from MSP are one of the most common requests — one vehicle for the whole group beats coordinating multiple rideshares at Terminal 1. Corporate travel and employee shuttles move teams between hotels, the Mall of America, and office campuses along the I-494 corridor.
Weddings and private events use shuttle loops between hotel blocks and venues. Concerts and sporting events keep groups together to and from U.S. Bank Stadium and Target Center. School and church group trips, government and military moves, brewery and winery tours, prom, and long-distance travel to destinations across the Midwest are all handled through the network.
Whatever brings the group together, submit the trip details and see what's available.
The network covers Bloomington and the surrounding Twin Cities metro. Nearby cities served include Minneapolis, St. Paul, Eden Prairie, Edina, Richfield, Burnsville, Eagan, Apple Valley, Minnetonka, Plymouth, and Maple Grove — those are examples, not the full coverage area. The network extends across Hennepin, Dakota, and Ramsey Counties and well beyond.
Enter the full route in the quote form or call 612-230-4115 to check a city that isn't listed — if it's reachable, there's likely a vehicle available for it.
Prom season across Bloomington Jefferson, Kennedy, and surrounding district high schools runs late April through May and takes vehicles fast — book six months out. June through September is peak wedding season, and weekends fill early across the whole metro. Minnesota State Fair weekends in late August and early September drive enormous demand out of the I-494 corridor.
Vikings home Sundays at U.S. Bank Stadium and Twins games at Target Field pull the market all fall and summer. New Year's Eve is the single busiest night of the year. On any of those dates, the whole local market gets taken early.
Book well ahead for them — and on short notice, still submit the request, because the network covers more ground than one local operator does.
Planning Your Bloomington, Minnesota Charter Bus Trip
Yes — the network serves Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport (MSP), which sits approximately 5 miles northeast of downtown Bloomington, roughly a 10- to 15-minute drive via I-494 off-peak. MSP is a major Delta hub and the primary airport for the Twin Cities metro, handling nearly 40 million passengers annually. For groups flying into or out of MSP, the coach meets the group outside the terminal at the spot the airport designates for buses and larger vehicles, following MSP's own ground transportation guidelines.
Give the group's full luggage count and any accessibility needs with the trip details so the right vehicle is matched to the pickup.
Yes — the network serves all of them. U.S. Bank Stadium (401 Chicago Avenue, Minneapolis) is home to the Minnesota Vikings and hosted Super Bowl LII; buses drop and stage along the designated commercial vehicle zones on 5th Street South, and traffic around the stadium closes several surrounding blocks on game days so building in extra time is essential. Target Center (600 1st Ave N, Minneapolis) hosts the Minnesota Timberwolves and Minnesota Lynx, with bus drop-off on 1st Avenue North.
Target Field (1 Twins Way, Minneapolis) is home to the Minnesota Twins. Closer to Bloomington, the Grand Casino Arena (199 W Kellogg Blvd, St. Paul) hosts the Minnesota Wild. Submit the event date and the full group size — game-day traffic patterns change everything, and the network accounts for that in the timing.
Yes — the network serves all of them. The Mall of America (60 E Broadway, Bloomington) is the largest shopping and entertainment complex in the United States and a major convention and event draw, with the Radisson Blu and JW Marriott connected directly to the complex. The Minneapolis Convention Center (1301 2nd Ave S, Minneapolis) handles large conventions and trade shows, with designated bus loading areas separate from the main pedestrian entrance.
The Mystic Lake Center in Prior Lake hosts concerts, conferences, and private events. A repeat shuttle between a hotel block and any of these venues should have its full schedule — number of runs, timing between runs, and headcount — laid out with the request so it comes back timed and priced correctly.
Yes — any wedding venue in the area. Real Bloomington and nearby venues the network serves include the Radisson Blu at Mall of America (2100 Killebrew Dr, Bloomington), a contemporary hotel venue steps from the light rail; the Normandale Lake area, popular for outdoor ceremonies; Brackett's Crossing Country Club (17976 Judicial Rd, Lakeville) for classic ballroom receptions; and The Depot Minneapolis (225 3rd Ave S, Minneapolis), a converted 1899 train shed with dramatic event space. The most common setup is a shuttle loop between a hotel block and the venue — one bus running multiple trips keeps guests from worrying about parking or driving.
Give the exact venue address with the request and the right vehicle gets matched to it.
Yes — the network serves all of them. Bloomington is served by Bloomington Public Schools, which includes Jefferson Senior High School (4001 W 102nd St) and Kennedy Senior High School (9701 Nicollet Ave S). Nearby higher education includes Normandale Community College (9700 France Ave S, Bloomington), the largest community college in Minnesota, and University of Minnesota Twin Cities (Minneapolis) for longer group runs.
Field trips and team travel are typically pickups at the school or campus itself, and campuses have designated bus loading zones. Student trips should include the exact headcount plus any chaperone or accessibility needs with the request so the right vehicle is confirmed before the trip date.
Yes — the network serves all of them. Mystic Lake Casino (2400 Mystic Lake Blvd NW, Prior Lake) is about 20 miles southwest of Bloomington, roughly a 25-minute drive. Canterbury Park (1100 Canterbury Rd, Shakopee) hosts live horse racing and events about 15 miles west.
For brewery loops, Dangerous Man Brewing (1300 2nd St NE, Minneapolis), Indeed Brewing (711 NE 15th Ave, Minneapolis), and Surly Brewing (520 Malcolm Ave SE, Minneapolis) make a natural Northeast Minneapolis circuit about 20 miles north. The North Loop and Warehouse District in Minneapolis cover the nightlife and cocktail bar circuit. A multi-stop route is timed by how long the group stays at each stop — list the stops and how long at each one so the hours come back priced right.
Yes. Groups regularly travel from Bloomington to Chicago, Illinois — about 410 miles southeast via I-90, roughly a 6.5-hour drive. Milwaukee, Wisconsin is about 330 miles, around 5 hours.
Kansas City, Missouri is roughly 440 miles southwest, about 6.5 hours. Sioux Falls, South Dakota is about 250 miles west, around 3.5 hours. Green Bay, Wisconsin for Packers games is about 300 miles, roughly 4.5 hours.
A long-distance trip is usually booked as a one-way transfer or a multi-day trip rather than by the hour, and overnight trips need the full itinerary — departure time, overnight location, return timing — laid out with the request so it comes back priced correctly. Call 612-230-4115 for multi-day packages.