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Two-wheelers lead work commutes, buses rule nights

By Sohail Khan 6 October 2026, 12:29 am

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Two-wheelers dominate work commutes, buses lead overnight travel: NHTS survey
Synopsis

The latest National Household Travel Survey reveals that two-wheelers dominate daily commuting choices, while buses make up over 50% of overnight travel, underscoring their role in long-distance journeys. Urban workers face higher commuting costs than their rural counterparts, and students mostly use walking and buses to get to school. The survey illustrates varied travel habits across states, emphasizing the significance of public transport options.

two-wheelers--bccl — India’s first NHTS finds two-wheelers are the top mode for work commutes, while buses dominate overnight journeys.

New Delhi: Two-wheelers are the most commonly used mode of transport for commuting to the workplace, while buses account for more than half of overnight journeys, according to the first National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) released by the statistics and programme implementation ministry on Monday.

Around 42.6% of workers who travel to a fixed or non-fixed workplace use two-wheelers as their primary mode of transport, followed by walking (28.3%). Monorail, metro, suburban rail and trams account for 5% of urban worker commutes nationwide, with usage highest in Maharashtra (20.7%), followed by West Bengal (16.5%) and Delhi (14.4%).

Data shows that most workers reached their workplace within a relatively short time, with a typical journey taking up to 25 minutes. Around 83.4% of workers travelling to a fixed workplace reached it within 30 minutes, while another 13.7% took between 30 minutes and one hour. Across states and union territories (UTs), Nagaland recorded the highest average travel time to a fixed workplace at 37 minutes, followed by Delhi (35 minutes), West Bengal (32 minutes), Himachal Pradesh and Maharashtra (30 minutes each). Data shows that 23 states and UTs recorded average travel time in the range of 11-23 minutes. The survey was conducted between July 2025 and June 2026.

ET Bureau

Nearly nine in 10 students reach their educational institutions within 30 minutes. Around two-thirds of students aged 6 years and above undertake within-travel-day trips of at least one km to attend their basic course educational institution (65.6% in rural areas, 68.1% in urban areas). Trips of less than one kilometre were not recorded, the ministry said in a statement. Walking (37%), buses (29.5%), and bicycles (15.8%) accounted for the majority of student commutes nationwide.

Overnight journeys

The average monthly expenditure on commuting to a fixed workplace is ₹785 per worker. Urban workers incur a higher average monthly cost of ₹1,044 compared with ₹612 for rural workers. The average monthly cost of commuting to educational institutions is ₹443 per student. Urban students spend an average of ₹617 on such trips, compared with ₹361 for rural students.

The NHTS found that buses account for more than half of overnight travel, followed by inter-city railways (17.7%), cars (15.1%) and two-wheelers (8.8%). Socialising, communication and religious activities drive the majority of overnight household trips at 70.2%.

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