Lakeville Charter Bus Rental FAQs
About Lakevillecharterbuscompany.com
Lakevillecharterbuscompany.com is an advertising and quote comparison website that lets you compare bus rental options and pricing from a network of bus companies serving Lakeville through a national booking company. Fill out one quick form — or call 507-366-1210 — and you'll instantly see different vehicles, amenities, and price points side by side instead of calling around to individual companies one at a time. Lakevillecharterbuscompany.com is an advertising and referral website; it does not own or operate any vehicles. The transportation itself is carried out by independently owned companies serving your area.
No. Lakevillecharterbuscompany.com is a comparison and referral website. You use it to compare vehicles and pricing from a network of bus companies serving Lakeville, and the transportation itself is carried out by independently owned companies. In practical terms, that means you share your trip details once, see your options on a national booking platform, and choose the vehicle that fits your group — all without making five phone calls to figure out who even has a bus available on your date.
When you search on your own, you call one company, hear what they have, and either take it or start over. With Lakevillecharterbuscompany.com, you fill out one form — or make one call to 507-366-1210 — and get more options and different price points than any single operator can offer. You see vehicles and rates quickly, companies in the network are competing for the booking, and you spend your time choosing rather than hunting.
That is the difference.
An independently owned transportation company serving Lakeville. Once you fill out a quote, you're taken to a national booking platform where you choose the vehicle that suits the trip — the size, the amenities, the price point that works for your group. What you're choosing there is a vehicle and a price.
The transportation company assigned to the booking is confirmed to you after the reservation is complete.
Booking a Charter Bus
Fill out the form on this page or call 507-366-1210, and you're taken straight to a search results page on a national booking company's website. That booking company partners with independently owned operators serving the Lakeville area, and right there on their site you'll see available vehicles, pricing, and photos. What you're choosing is a vehicle and a price — pick the one that fits your group and book it directly online in minutes.
No waiting on a callback, no back-and-forth.
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 started. The more detail you give — your stops, your 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 options you'll find waiting for you on the results page.
Right away — there is no waiting on a callback. The moment you submit the form, you go straight to the search results page and see quotes on the booking company's website. You can compare vehicles and pricing and book immediately if something fits.
If you'd rather talk it through with someone first, call 507-366-1210 and a live agent will walk you through the options.
The earlier the better, especially for a popular date or a specific vehicle. Prom weekends at Lakeville North and Lakeville South, June through September wedding season, Vikings home Sundays at U.S. Bank Stadium, and the Minnesota State Fair shuttle rush in late August all pull from the same pool of available buses at the same time — and those dates go fast. That said, because Lakevillecharterbuscompany.com 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.
Don't assume a close date is a lost cause. Submit the request or call 507-366-1210 and see what's available.
All of those can be requested. Hourly or as-directed keeps the vehicle with your group for a block of time, which works well when the itinerary has moving parts. A one-way transfer moves a group from one place to another and ends there.
A round trip brings everyone back. A multi-stop itinerary runs a set route with several stops — a brewery loop out to Cannon Falls or a winery run east to Alexis Bailly Vineyard and back, for example. A multi-day booking covers a trip that runs across more than one day, like a charter down to Wisconsin Dells or out to Chicago.
Which format fits comes down to the trip itself. If the itinerary is multi-stop or overnight, lay it out in full with the request so the quote comes back timed and priced correctly.
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 real starting ranges, but pricing is not one size fits all. The type of bus, the date, how long you need it, and how busy that day is locally all move the number.
A Saturday Vikings game day in Minneapolis costs differently than a Tuesday morning airport run from Lakeville to MSP. The ranges are a planning starting point — your actual price comes from the trip details. Fill out the form and see pricing for your specific trip in seconds, or call 507-366-1210 where going through the itinerary with someone can turn up better 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 — say, a round trip from Lakeville to a Vikings game at U.S. Bank Stadium and back — is usually priced hourly. A trip that covers serious distance, roughly past the 100 to 200 mile mark or heading well out of the metro, may carry a per-mile charge instead.
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. A multi-day run down to Wisconsin Dells or out to Chicago is a different structure again. Submit the actual trip and the platform determines which structure fits.
Six things move the price: the type and size of bus, how long it is 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; daytime prices lower than those same nights. Booking the size the group actually needs beats over-booking capacity.
And grouping riders into one or two pickup points in Lakeville instead of five scattered stops cuts the hours on the clock and the total on the quote. Prom season in late April and May, summer wedding weekends, and Vikings home games are the dates where the whole southern metro market tightens at once — those dates cost more and book earlier. Everything else has more room to move.
About Charter Buses
A charter bus is a full-size passenger coach that a group hires for its own trip, with its own route and schedule, rather than riding a fixed public route. It is 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 route, the stops, and the timing belong to the group that booked it.
On the outside, a full-size charter bus is a tall, wide coach body with high windows running the length of both sides and luggage bay doors along the lower panel beneath the passenger floor. The exterior is usually finished in white, silver, black, or a solid color, and some coaches are wrapped in an operator's own graphics — so the coach that shows up will not always look identical to a photo. Inside, you'll find forward-facing seats arranged in pairs on either side of a center aisle, with seat fabric in cloth or leather depending on the make and model.
Overhead parcel racks run the full length above the seats, and a restroom sits toward the rear. Real makes you'll see on the road include the MCI J4500, the Van Hool CX45, and the Prevost H3-45 — all full-size 45-foot coaches built on the same basic layout.
Some of the amenities available on charter buses include reclining cloth or leather seats, individual climate controls, onboard restrooms, overhead parcel racks and undercarriage baggage bays, WiFi, power outlets and USB charging ports, a PA system, and TV monitors. Features may vary by make, model, and the specific vehicle — not every coach carries every item on that list, and what is actually on board is confirmed during booking. If there are amenities your group needs — WiFi for a long run up I-35 to Minneapolis, for instance, or extra storage for sports equipment — note them with your trip details so the right vehicles come back.
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 is configuration: extra legroom takes seats out, and a wheelchair position does the same.
Because Lakevillecharterbuscompany.com works with a network of providers, the exact coach on any given trip depends on what is available for your date. Submit the trip or call 507-366-1210 if the group needs a specific capacity confirmed.
A 56-passenger coach runs 14 rows, with two seats on each side of a center aisle — so four seats across per row, 14 rows deep. The layout is forward-facing paired seating with one aisle down the middle. The row count drops on coaches built with extra legroom or a wheelchair position, and some coaches tier the front rows slightly for the view forward.
Those are the figures for a standard full-size build.
A full-size charter bus is 45 feet long and 8.5 feet wide. If you're trying to picture it, that's roughly three cars parked end to end — which is the reason most people ask, because they're working out whether one fits somewhere. Shorter coaches exist, most commonly around 35 feet, and those are the vehicles that work in tighter spots.
The 45-foot coach is the standard full-size build.
A full-size charter bus stands about 11 to 12 feet tall depending on the model, and traffic engineers design for 12 feet as the standard clearance. A useful comparison: that's a little taller than a single story of a house. If your group is heading somewhere with a low-clearance structure — a parking garage, a covered drive, a venue entrance — that's the number to check against before the bus arrives.
WiFi is one of the amenities available on charter buses, and many coaches on the road today are equipped with it. One point worth knowing before you count on it: onboard WiFi is an equipment option a coach is built with rather than something every coach carries, so whether a given vehicle has it varies. The other thing to set honestly — because this is where groups get surprised — is that onboard WiFi runs off a cellular connection and is built for light use across a full coach.
Phones, messaging, and browsing work well. Fifty people doing heavy data work at once is a different story. If WiFi matters for the trip, note it with your details so vehicles that have it come back in the results.
Yes, an onboard restroom is standard on full-size charter buses. It sits toward the rear of the coach. The honest expectation to set: it's there so the group doesn't have to stop, and on a long run — say, the charter down to Rochester or out toward Chicago — the trip is still usually planned with real rest stops built in.
Whether a specific vehicle includes one may vary, so note it with the trip details if it matters for your group.
Yes. Charter buses are built with 110-volt AC power outlets, and coaches are commonly fitted with them at 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.
In practical terms, a group can keep phones and laptops charged across a long run up I-35 or out to Duluth without hunting for a plug. If the group needs outlets confirmed, note it with the trip details.
Yes, in two places: overhead parcel racks inside the coach, and undercarriage baggage bays underneath it. 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 cubic feet overhead — which in practice is 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. A hockey team heading to a tournament in the Twin Cities is a different load than a wedding party going downtown. State the luggage and any oversized items with the trip details so the right coach is matched to the group.
Charter Bus Service in Lakeville, Minnesota
Any group that needs to move together — and that covers a wide range of trips. Airport transfers to and from Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport (MSP) are one of the most common requests. Corporate travel and employee shuttles move teams between Lakeville offices and Minneapolis meeting venues or the convention center.
Weddings and private events need guest shuttles between hotel blocks and venues. Concerts and sporting events at U.S. Bank Stadium, Target Field, Xcel Energy Center, and Target Center are a natural fit. School and church group trips, government and military moves, brewery and winery tours out to Alexis Bailly Vineyard or Cannon River Winery, prom, and long-distance travel to Wisconsin Dells, Chicago, or Duluth — all of it is workable through the network.
The network serves Lakeville and the surrounding Dakota County area, including nearby cities like Apple Valley, Burnsville, Farmington, Rosemount, Prior Lake, Shakopee, Eagan, and Savage, as well as the broader Twin Cities metro. Those are examples, not a complete list. If the pickup or destination city isn't named here, enter the full route in the quote form or call 507-366-1210 to check coverage.
The dates that fill fastest in the Lakeville market are prom weekends in late April and May at Lakeville North and Lakeville South — two large high schools running prom in the same stretch means serious demand across the southern metro. June through September wedding season is the single longest busy stretch of the year. ISD 194 graduation ceremonies in late May and early June, often held at Xcel Energy Center or Target Center, pull buses at the same time as the rest of the metro's graduation season.
Minnesota State Fair shuttles in late August and over Labor Day weekend are enormous. Vikings home Sundays from September through January drain availability fast. And New Year's Eve into downtown Minneapolis books out well ahead every year.
On those dates the whole local market gets taken early — book ahead. Short-notice requests on other dates are still worth submitting, because the network is larger than any one operator's yard.
Planning Your Lakeville, Minnesota Charter Bus Trip
The primary airport for Lakeville groups is Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport (MSP) (4300 Glumack Drive, St. Paul, MN 55111), approximately 22 miles north via I-35W and about 25 to 35 minutes off-peak, longer during the morning and evening rush. MSP has two terminals — Terminal 1 (Lindbergh) and Terminal 2 (Humphrey) — and charter buses meet groups at the ground transportation areas on the lower level of each terminal following MSP's own guidelines for larger vehicles. Rochester International Airport (RST) (7600 Helgerson Dr SW, Rochester, MN 55902) is about 75 miles southeast, roughly 1 hour 10 minutes, and comes up for groups traveling to the Mayo Clinic area.
Confirm your terminal and flight details with the trip request so the pickup is staged correctly.
The major venues in the Twin Cities metro are all reachable from Lakeville. U.S. Bank Stadium (401 Chicago Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55415), home of the Minnesota Vikings, is about 28 miles north and 30 to 40 minutes off-peak — charter buses use commercial vehicle zones on 5th Street South and Chicago Avenue and stage off-site during the game. Target Field (1 Twins Way, Minneapolis, MN 55403), home of the Minnesota Twins, is about 27 miles north.
Xcel Energy Center (199 W Kellogg Blvd, Saint Paul, MN 55102), home of the Minnesota Wild, is about 30 miles northeast via I-35E. Target Center (600 First Ave N, Minneapolis, MN 55403), home of the Timberwolves and Lynx, and Allianz Field (400 Snelling Ave N, St. Paul, MN 55104), home of Minnesota United FC, round out the circuit. Traffic around all of these venues changes significantly on event days — build in extra time, especially on Vikings Sundays and playoff runs.
The closest large event venue to Lakeville is Mystic Lake Center at Mystic Lake Casino Hotel (2400 Mystic Lake Blvd NW, Prior Lake, MN 55372), about 10 miles northwest and 15 to 20 minutes via County Road 70 — one of the largest casino and convention complexes in the Midwest. The Minneapolis Convention Center (1301 2nd Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55403) is about 27 miles north and handles major trade shows and conferences, with designated bus loading on 2nd Avenue South and 13th Street. The Ames Center (12600 Nicollet Ave, Burnsville, MN 55337), formerly the Burnsville Performing Arts Center, is about 8 miles north and roughly 10 to 12 minutes.
Large venues have designated bus loading areas separate from the main entrance — if the trip is a repeat shuttle between a hotel and a venue, lay out the full schedule with the request so it comes back timed and priced correctly.
Yes — any wedding venue in the area. In Lakeville proper, Brackett's Crossing Country Club (17976 Judicial Rd, Lakeville, MN 55044) is a popular banquet and golf club venue. Just west, Mystic Lake Casino Hotel hosts large wedding receptions about 10 miles from Lakeville.
The Wilds Golf Club (3151 Wilds Ridge, Prior Lake, MN 55372) is another upscale option nearby. Rural barn and estate venues in the Farmington and Northfield corridor are common for Lakeville couples who want an outdoor setting. Couples choosing a Minneapolis venue often land at places like Nicollet Island Inn (95 Merriam St, Minneapolis, MN 55401), about 30 miles north.
The most common wedding setup is shuttling guests between a hotel block and the venue — give the exact venue address with the request and the right vehicle gets matched to it.
Lakeville Area Public Schools (ISD 194) includes Lakeville North High School (19600 Ipava Ave, Lakeville, MN 55044) and Lakeville South High School (21135 Jacquard Ave, Lakeville, MN 55044), each with roughly 1,800 to 1,900 students, plus multiple middle and elementary schools. Nearby colleges include Normandale Community College (9700 France Ave S, Bloomington, MN 55431) about 18 miles north, and the University of Minnesota Twin Cities (100 Church St SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455) about 30 miles north. Minnesota State University, Mankato is about 65 miles southwest via US-169 — a common destination for Lakeville school and sports groups.
Field trips and team travel are usually pickups at the school itself; campuses have designated bus loading zones, and student trips should include the exact headcount plus any accessibility needs with the request.
The options around Lakeville make for a great day out. Local, Lakeville Brewing Company (8790 Upper 208th St W, Lakeville, MN 55044) is right in Lakeville. Heading northwest about 20 minutes, Badger Hill Brewing (2805 Winners Circle Dr, Shakopee, MN 55379) is a popular stop.
For wineries, Alexis Bailly Vineyard (18200 Kirby Ave, Hastings, MN 55033) is about 25 miles east and 30 minutes — one of Minnesota's oldest and most respected — and Cannon River Winery (421 Mill St W, Cannon Falls, MN 55009) is about 35 miles southeast and 40 minutes. The casino circuit is close: Mystic Lake Casino Hotel is 10 miles northwest and about 15 minutes, and Canterbury Park (1100 Canterbury Rd, Shakopee, MN 55379) is about 15 miles northwest and 20 minutes. A multi-stop route is timed by how long the group stays at each stop — list the stops and the time at each one with the request so the hours come back right.
Yes. Groups travel from Lakeville to Duluth, MN (about 175 miles north, approximately 3 hours via I-35) for North Shore trips and college events. Rochester, MN (about 75 miles southeast, approximately 1 hour 10 minutes via US-52) is a common destination for Mayo Clinic groups.
Wisconsin Dells, WI (about 215 miles east, approximately 4 hours via I-90) is a popular multi-day group trip for water parks and resorts. Chicago, IL (about 415 miles, approximately 6.5 to 7 hours via I-90/I-94) is a full-day charter. Sioux Falls, SD is about 220 miles west and 3.5 hours.
Long-distance trips are usually booked as a one-way transfer or a multi-day trip rather than by the hour. Overnight trips need the full itinerary — stops, overnight location, return timing — laid out with the request so it comes back priced correctly.