The costs that are not in the per-kilometre rate

A quote of '₹23 per kilometre' is true and incomplete. The gap between that number and the final invoice is where most disputes in this business happen, and almost none of it is dishonest — it is just unstated until it appears.

Driver allowance

The largest of them, and the one most often omitted from a phone quote. It covers the driver's meals and accommodation on multi-day trips, and it applies for every day the vehicle is committed to you — including a day it barely moves.

Night allowance

Any day involving driving between 11pm and 6am carries the driver allowance a second time. That is the whole of it — the per-kilometre rate does not change. An operator quoting a doubled fare for a night departure is inventing a charge.

The 250 km per day minimum

Outstation bookings bill at a minimum of 250 km for each day the vehicle is yours, whether or not you cover it. Vindhyachal is the clearest example: 70 km each way, 140 km of road, billed as 250. For short trips a 12-hour local package is usually cheaper and we will say so.

State permits

Charged at actuals on routes crossing into Bihar (Gaya, Bodhgaya), Madhya Pradesh (Chitrakoot) or Nepal (Lumbini). These are arranged in advance rather than at the border, and should be named in the quote rather than added afterwards.

Toll and parking

At actuals, with receipts. On the Ayodhya and Prayagraj routes the toll is meaningful; within Varanasi, parking at temple approaches is small but constant across a sightseeing day.

GST

Added on the invoice at the applicable rate. Every rate published on this site is pre-tax, stated as such on every page.

How to check any quote in thirty seconds

• Take the round-trip distance. Compare it with 250 km times the number of days. Bill the larger figure at the per-kilometre rate.
• Add driver allowance times the number of days, from the table above.
• Add a second driver allowance for any day with driving between 11pm and 6am.
• Expect toll, parking, permits and GST on top, at actuals.

Any honest operator's quote lands within a few hundred rupees of that number. If one comes in dramatically lower, the difference is almost always a charge that has not been mentioned yet.

The reason our whole rate card is published is that this arithmetic is something you can do before calling us. A price you can verify in advance is worth more than a price you have to trust.