Indian workers spend Rs 785 a month commuting to work, with urban travel cost 70% higher

The National Household Travel Survey, conducted between July 2025 and June 2026, revealed that workers travelling to a fixed workplace spend an average of Rs 1,044 a month in urban areas, compared to Rs 612 in rural regions.

Men reported higher monthly commuting costs than women. With male workers spending an average of Rs 835 a month on fixed-workplace travel, compared to Rs 533 for female workers.

A substantial proportion of workers travel more than 1 km to work. With 57.6% of all workers, 54.5% of rural workers, and 64.1% of urban workers undertaking within-travel-day trips to fixed or non-fixed workplaces.

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Workers travelling to fixed workplaces typically spend an average of 25 minutes on their commute. With the figure being 23 minutes in rural areas and 27 minutes in urban areas.

Two-wheelers are the preferred mode of transportation for worker commutes, accounting for 37.1% of rural commutes and 52.3% of urban commutes.

Public rail-based transport, including monorail, metro, suburban rail, and trams, accounts for a relatively small percentage of urban worker commutes, standing at 5% nationally.

A notable disparity exists in daily work travel. With 61.9% of male workers undertaking commutes covering more than 1 km, compared to 41.9% of female workers.

Students tend to spend less on daily travel. With an average of Rs 617 a month in urban areas, compared to Rs 361 in rural India.

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Buses and railways together account for the majority of journeys for overnight household trips, covering nearly three-fourths of such journeys.

Cars and two-wheelers also play a role in overnight travel. With cars accounting for 15.1% of trips and two-wheelers making up 8.8% of such journeys.

Rail is a widely used mode of transportation for overnight travel. Particularly in urban households, with approximately 22.7% of urban households relying on rail for such journeys.