Summary of this article
Indian workers spend Rs 785 monthly commuting to fixed workplaces.
Urban workers pay more for commuting than rural workers.
Two-wheelers dominate work travel, while buses lead overnight journeys.
Getting to work costs an average Indian worker Rs 785 a month, but the expense varies sharply depending on where they live. Urban workers spend Rs 1,044 a month on average, while the figure for rural workers is Rs 612. The findings come from the National Household Travel Survey (NHTS), conducted by the National Statistics Office (NSO) under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) from July 2025 to June 2026.
The survey has counted journeys longer than 1 km as trips, meaning shorter journeys are excluded from the travel estimates.
Two-Wheelers Lead Daily Work Travel
Personal two-wheelers are the most widely used primary mode for travelling to work. They account for 52.30 per cent of worker commutes in urban India and 37.10 per cent in rural areas.
The survey also found a significant difference between male and female workers when it came to commuting beyond 1 km. About 61.90 per cent of male workers made such daily work journeys, as against 41.90 per cent of female workers.
Across India, 57.60 per cent workers travel more than 1 km to work. When both fixed and non-fixed workplaces are considered, 54.50 per cent of rural workers and 64.10 per cent of urban workers make within-travel-day work journeys.
Men also spend more on fixed-workplace travel, at Rs 835 a month on average, as against Rs 533 for women.
Most Work Journeys Take Under Half An Hour
For most workers, reaching the workplace does not involve a lengthy daily journey. About 83.40 per cent complete their travel within 30 minutes.
The average journey to a fixed workplace takes 25 minutes. Rural workers record an average of 23 minutes, while the figure rises to 27 minutes for urban workers.
Public transport plays a particularly significant role in some parts of the country. Rail-based services such as metro, suburban rail, monorail and trams account for 5 per cent of urban worker commutes nationally. The proportion rises to 20.70 per cent in Maharashtra, 16.50 per cent in West Bengal and 14.40 per cent in Delhi.
Students Spend Less On Travel
Students spend an average of Rs 435 a month travelling to educational institutions. The monthly cost is Rs 617 for urban students and Rs 361 for rural students.
Around 66.40 per cent of students travel more than 1 km for education, while nearly nine in 10 complete their journey within 30 minutes. School students most commonly walk, with walking accounting for about 37 per cent of trips. Buses account for 29.50 per cent and bicycles for 15.80 per cent.
For overnight household journeys, buses and railways together account for 73.50 per cent of travel. Buses make up 55.80 per cent, followed by inter-city rail at 17.70 per cent, cars at 15.10 per cent and two-wheelers at 8.80 per cent.
