Tempo Traveller vs Force Urbania: Which Group Vehicle Should You Rent in Chennai?
A family of eleven is heading to Tirupati. A project team is going off-site for the day. A wedding party needs one vehicle that stays together from the hotel to the muhurtham. Whenever the headcount crosses seven or eight, the car conversation ends and a different one starts: Tempo Traveller or Force Urbania?
On paper they look like the same idea — a 12+1 van with a professional driver. In practice the two behave quite differently, and the price gap between them is bigger than most people expect. We run both at APJ CABS, so here is how we explain it to customers who call us.
Side-by-Side at a Glance
| Feature | Tempo Traveller | Force Urbania 12+1 |
|---|---|---|
| Seating | 12+1 | 12+1 (16+1 also available) |
| Local 4 hrs / 40 kms | ₹5,500 | ₹12,000 |
| Local 8 hrs / 80 kms | ₹5,500 | ₹12,000 |
| Extra hour | ₹550 | ₹1,000 |
| Outstation per km | ₹28 | ₹50 |
| Driver batta | ₹1,000/day | ₹1,000/day |
| Minimum per day (outstation) | 250 kms | 250 kms |
| Character | Affordable, familiar workhorse | Newer, stylish, luxury-MPV cabin |
Rates are chauffeur-driven with fuel included. Toll, parking and interstate permit tax are extra, and GST is additional. See the live tariff page for the latest numbers.
Force Tempo Traveller — The Sensible Choice
If you have ever been on a school trip, a temple tour or a company outing in South India, you have probably ridden in a Tempo Traveller. It is the most common group vehicle in Chennai for a reason: it carries up to 12 passengers with genuinely good room, and it does that at a price that makes the per-person cost almost embarrassingly low.
It is not the most polished ride on the road, and we will not pretend otherwise. But for a group that cares more about getting everyone there together and keeping the bill sensible, it does exactly what it is meant to.
Best suited for: pilgrimage and temple circuits, college and office outings, family trips with a tight budget, and long outstation days where the per-km rate matters.
Force Urbania — The One That Makes an Entrance
The Urbania is the newer of the two and it shows. It was designed as a passenger vehicle first, not adapted from a commercial van, and the cabin feels closer to a luxury MPV than a bus. When it pulls up outside a hotel or a wedding hall, people notice.
That presence has a price. Local hire is more than twice the Tempo Traveller, and every extra kilometre costs noticeably more. What you are paying for is a better first impression and a more comfortable ride for guests who will judge the vehicle as much as the destination.
Best suited for: VIP guest transfers, corporate delegations, wedding guest shuttles where appearance matters, and shorter city runs where the km difference stays small.
Let’s Do the Maths on a Real Trip
The price difference is easiest to see on an outstation day. Say your group travels 400 km in a single day:
| 400 km outstation day | Tempo Traveller | Force Urbania 12+1 |
|---|---|---|
| Distance charge | 400 × ₹28 = ₹11,200 | 400 × ₹50 = ₹20,000 |
| Driver batta | ₹1,000 | ₹1,000 |
| Total (before toll & GST) | ₹12,200 | ₹21,000 |
| Per person (12 travellers) | about ₹1,017 | about ₹1,750 |
Good to know: on outstation trips a minimum of 250 km per calendar day is billed even if you drive less. So a short 150 km day trip is charged as 250 km. Check that figure before you assume a short trip is a cheap one.
Which Should You Pick?
Pick the Tempo Traveller if:
- Budget is the deciding factor
- The route is long and the km bill will add up
- The group is family, friends or colleagues on an outing
- You want a familiar, proven group vehicle
Pick the Force Urbania if:
- Guests will judge the vehicle on arrival
- It is a corporate or VIP delegation
- The trip is mostly within the city
- A more comfortable cabin is worth the extra
Our honest take: for most family and outstation groups, the Tempo Traveller is the better value by a wide margin. The Urbania earns its price when the occasion is about impressions — a client delegation, a wedding VIP shuttle, a hotel-to-venue run. Travelling with 13 to 16 people? The Urbania 16+1 is the next step up, and for larger parties a 25-seater bus usually works out cheaper per head.