Bangalore to Chennai taxi, door to door

The Bangalore-Chennai corridor links two of India's biggest technology and manufacturing hubs, and plenty of people travel it every week: engineers moving between offices, families shifting homes, students heading to college, and relatives meeting for weddings and festivals. A Bangalore to Chennai taxi from RutzIndia.com takes you from your gate in Whitefield or Koramangala to your gate in T Nagar, Velachery or on OMR, with no station transfers and no luggage limits beyond the boot. You choose the car, the fare is kilometres times rate, and a professional chauffeur handles six hours of highway so you can work, rest or talk.

How much is a Bangalore to Chennai taxi in 2026?

Fares updated September 2026.

For round trips we charge on the higher of the true return distance or 250 km per calendar day. Since Bangalore to Chennai and back is already 690 km, both a same-day return and a two-day trip with a night in Chennai are billed on 690 km; the overnight version adds only the chauffeur's overnight bata, Rs 1,500 depending on the car. Three days moves the minimum to 750 km, which leaves room for local running around Chennai or a side trip to Mahabalipuram.

The road costs are passed through without mark-up: tolls on NH48 and on any expressway section used on the day, the Tamil Nadu entry permit or tax paid by a Karnataka-registered commercial vehicle at the border near Attibele and Hosur, and parking at your destination if needed. Prices are before 5% GST. Corporate bookings carry the company GSTIN on the invoice, and payment is by card or UPI through the booker. The same fare logic runs across every route on our fares page.

Book a Bangalore to Chennai cab

Route options between Bangalore and Chennai

The main line: Hosur Road and NH48

From south and east Bangalore, the chauffeur takes Hosur Road past Silk Board and Electronic City to the state border at Attibele, then continues on NH48 through Hosur, Krishnagiri, Vaniyambadi, Ambur, Vellore, Ranipet and Sriperumbudur to Chennai's western edge at Poonamallee. This is a four- and six-lane national highway with toll plazas every so often, busy with trucks and buses but generally fast. Delays tend to be at the two ends: Silk Board and Electronic City in Bangalore, and the Poonamallee to Guindy stretch entering Chennai.

From the airport or north Bangalore

If you start at Kempegowda airport, Hebbal or Whitefield, it can be quicker to leave by Old Madras Road through Hoskote and Kolar and meet the Chennai highway further east near Vellore, rather than crossing the whole city to reach Hosur Road. The driver checks live traffic before choosing.

The new expressway

The Bengaluru-Chennai Expressway, a new access-controlled corridor planned to shorten the journey considerably, has been opening in sections. Where a completed section is quicker for your trip, our chauffeurs will use it and pass on its tolls at actual; otherwise they stay on NH48. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and the National Highways Authority of India publish updates on the project and on toll plazas along the corridor.

How long it takes

Door to door, expect about six hours, sometimes a little less if you leave Bangalore before 6 am and reach Chennai before its evening rush, and sometimes seven or more on a Friday evening or at the start of a long weekend. For airport drops in Chennai, we build in a buffer so you reach the terminal with plenty of time.

NH48 in four legs: distance, time and toll points

Plaza locations and charges are revised by the highway authorities, and a stretch of the new expressway may replace part of this line on your travel day. Either way, the chauffeur pays by FASTag and you settle exactly what was paid.

Useful stops on the Chennai highway

• Krishnagiri - about 90 km from Bangalore; roadside mango stalls in season (roughly April to June) and good breakfast places.
• Ambur - famous across South India for its biryani; a popular lunch stop.
• Vellore - the 16th-century Vellore Fort with the Jalakandeswarar temple inside it, and the Sripuram Golden Temple on the southern side of the city, a short detour.
• Kanchipuram - a detour of roughly 30 to 40 km for the great temples and silk sarees; ideal if you are shopping for a wedding.
• Sriperumbudur - the Ramanujar temple, right on the way in.

A short stop or two is part of any one-way fare. If you want a proper Kanchipuram shopping afternoon, tell us when booking and we will price the detour and waiting in advance.

Where we pick up in Bangalore and drop in Chennai

Bangalore pickups cover Whitefield, Marathahalli, Bellandur, Sarjapur Road, Koramangala, HSR Layout, Electronic City, BTM Layout, Jayanagar, JP Nagar, Indiranagar, Malleshwaram, Hebbal and Yelahanka, plus Kempegowda airport. Flying in first? Your chauffeur follows the flight status, stands at arrivals holding your name, and does not start the waiting clock until an hour after an international touchdown (half an hour for domestic); beyond that, the hourly rate applies. More detail is on our Bangalore airport taxi page.

In Chennai, drops include Chennai International Airport at Meenambakkam, Chennai Central and Egmont stations, T Nagar, Anna Nagar, Adyar, Mylapore, Nungambakkam, Guindy, Velachery, Porur, the OMR IT corridor (Perungudi, Thoraipakkam, Sholinganallur, Siruseri), and the ECR towards Mahabalipuram. For local movement once you arrive, see our taxi service in Chennai or book a return to the airport through our Chennai airport taxi page.

Rail, road coach, air or a car of your own?

Pickup variants in Bangalore

Business travel between the two cities

Many of our Bangalore-Chennai bookings are corporate: engineers shuttling between development centres, auditors visiting plants around Sriperumbudur and Oragadam, and managers attending client meetings on OMR. For these trips a premium sedan gives a quieter cabin for calls, and an E-Class or 5 Series is available when a senior guest or client is travelling. Companies can set up a monthly account with consolidated GST invoices through our corporate car rental service, including fixed pickup windows, a named contact on the travel desk and cost-centre references on every bill.

Moving house or shifting a student? Plan the luggage

A surprising number of Bangalore to Chennai bookings are small relocations: a new job on OMR, a transfer back home to Tamil Nadu, a first-year student heading to college in Chennai or Vellore. A taxi is ideal for these because you load the car at your door and unload at the new one, with no porters, platforms or baggage limits. As a rough guide, a sedan's boot takes two large suitcases and a cabin bag; an Ertiga with its third row folded takes four or five; an Innova Crysta with the last row folded carries a household's worth of suitcases, cartons and a small appliance or two. For bigger moves, a Tempo Traveller with rear seats removed is sometimes arranged on request. Tell the desk what you are carrying so we send a car that fits it, and pack fragile items in soft bags that can sit on a seat rather than in the boot.

Monsoon note: the north-east monsoon brings heavy rain to Chennai mainly between October and December, and waterlogging can slow the last stretch into the city. The chauffeur will route around known flood-prone underpasses.

Beyond Chennai: Mahabalipuram and Pondicherry

If Chennai is not the end of your journey, it is easy to continue. Mahabalipuram, with its UNESCO-listed shore temple and rock carvings, lies about 55 km south on the ECR. Pondicherry is roughly three hours further, and our Chennai to Pondicherry taxi page covers that leg; booking it as one continuous trip from Bangalore saves the cost of a second pickup.

Add-ons at the Chennai end

Distances are approximate. Local running is charged at your car's per-km rate; on multi-day returns it first fills the per-day minimum.

The travel desk can plan these around temple closing times, and our fleet page lists each car's seating and boot space. Starting somewhere other than Bangalore? The cities hub shows every city we serve, and more long drives sit under outstation cabs.

Which car is right for this route?

• Compact sedan - one to three travellers, standard luggage, the best value.
• Ertiga - five or six people on a budget, or a small family with more bags.
• Premium sedan - more space, a quieter ride, ideal for working on a laptop.
• Innova Crysta - families, elderly parents, lots of luggage; the most-requested car for house moves.
• Luxury sedan - executive and VIP travel.
• Tempo Traveller - wedding parties, office teams and college groups of 10 to 16; see Tempo Traveller in Bangalore.

Every car is within four model years, air-conditioned and cleaned before dispatch. Chauffeurs speak Kannada, Tamil, Hindi and English between them, and they know the service lanes around Vellore and Ranipet that save time when the main carriageway is jammed.

Booking, payment and cancellation

1. Enter pickup and drop addresses and the date in our online booker.
2. Choose one way or return, and add a GSTIN for a company invoice if needed.
3. Settle the fare by UPI or card; a message with the driver's name and number plate lands the night before travel.
4. Tolls, border permit and parking are reconciled at drop-off with receipts.

Changing plans costs nothing if you cancel over 72 hours ahead. Inside that window the charge is 10%; inside 48 hours, half the fare; inside 24 hours, or if nobody turns up, the whole fare. The details sit in our cancellation policy. For more drives out of Bangalore, see our taxi service in Bangalore or the full list on the routes hub.