Kolkata: Two wheelers are the dominant mode of transport Indians use to commute to their office, a government survey has found. It has also said that Indian workers
spend on average Rs 785 per month to attend workplaces. However, there is a wide variation of the cost incurred for travel between rural and urban workers. While the former spend only Rs 612 a month to travel to and from office, the expenditure rises to Rs 1,044 for urban workers. The survey results were released by the National Statistics Office (NSO), under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) in what was the first National Household Travel Survey. It was conducted between July 2025 and June 2026. The survey defined a trip only if it covered a distance of more than 1 km.
Gender divide in travel to work
There is a wide gap in the expenditure incurred by male and female workers in India, the survey found. While male workers spend an average of Rs 835 per month on commuting to and from fixed workplaces, female workers spent Rs 533 per month, or 36.16% less.
Rural-urban divide
There was a big gap in the travel expenditure between cities and villages too. According to the study, the average worker commute cost was Rs 785 per month, with workers commuting to a fixed workplace spending Rs 1,044 per month in urban areas and Rs 612 per month in rural regions.
Modes of travel
The survey found two-wheelers emerging as the single largest primary mode of transport for workers across the country. The dependence is lower in rural areas than in cities. While 37.1% of the rural commuters ride two-wheelers as much as 52.3% of the urban office-goers use this mode. Nationally, only 5% of the urban workers use mass rapid systems such as monorail and metro, suburban rail and trams. However, in Maharashtra and West Bengal these modes account for a lot of travellers — 20.7% in Maharashtra and 16.5% in West Bengal and 14.4% in Delhi.
Time of travel
States such as Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh have reported average travel time of around 20–23 minutes. But the survey found higher times to and from work rising in parts of southern India. An overwhelming share of workers — about 83.4% — complete their journey in under 30 minutes. More than 80% reach their fixed workplace within 30 minutes and only for 13.7% the travel time takes 30-60 minutes.
