Indian workers spend an average of ₹785 a month getting to a fixed workplace, with urban employees paying nearly 70% more than their rural counterparts, the first-ever National Household Travel Survey released by the National Statistics Office (NSO) on October 5, 2026, found.
The survey, conducted by the NSO under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) between July 2025 and June 2026, defined a trip as travel covering more than 1 km. It covered 14,274 villages and 10,377 urban blocks, collecting information from 4,92,023 households and 20,34,371 persons, according to the official factsheet released by MoSPI.
Urban workers commuting to a fixed workplace spend ₹1,044 per month on average, compared to ₹612 for rural workers. A sharp gender gap also emerged: male workers spend ₹835 per month on fixed-workplace commutes, while female workers spend ₹533.
The findings also pointed to a wide gender divide in employment travel itself. “About 57.6 per cent of workers travel more than 1 km to work, while 61.9 per cent of male workers undertake such daily trips compared with 41.9 per cent of female workers,” the Ministry noted in its official release.
Two-wheelers remain the dominant primary mode of transport for workers across India, accounting for 37.1% of rural and 52.3% of urban commutes. Monorail, metro, suburban rail, and trams together account for 5% of urban worker commutes nationally, rising to 20.7% in Maharashtra, 16.5% in West Bengal, and 14.4% in Delhi.
About 83.4% of workers reach their fixed workplace in under 30 minutes, with the national average travel time standing at 25 minutes (23 minutes rural, 27 minutes urban). Student commutes averaged 23 minutes nationally. Urban students spend ₹617 per month on trips to and from educational institutions, against ₹361 for their rural peers.
