Did you know that most working Indians go to work on 2-wheelers? Or that most of us get to work in under half an hour (Sorry, Bangaloreans. Not applicable to you)
MoSPI recently released India’s first-ever National Household Travel Survey.
It covered over 20 lakh people across nearly 5 lakh households.
I believe public transport is the way forward for our cities, and I suspect last-mile connectivity is a huge deterrent. But I’d love to hear from you. What would it take to get you onto a bus or a metro?
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How does India get to work?
Four out of every ten of us ride a two-wheeler, while fewer than one in ten take a bus or a train.
The commute
is how long the average worker takes to get to work (sorry, Bangaloreans)
Most of us get to work in under half an hour
Imagine 100 workers heading out in the morning. Here’s how long their trip takes.
I suspect the 3 who spend over an hour are often stuck on Outer Ring Road, at the Tidel Park signal, or on the Noida Expressway.
Two-wheelers are running the show
In cities, it’s more than half. Yikes, that’s a lot of bikes!
The good news
13.5% in cities
5.8% in cities
Nearly three in ten people still walk to work, and one in ten cycles. Outside the cities, it’s even more common.
What it costs to get to work
a month, on average, for one person’s commute
That average includes people who walk or cycle for free, so if you’re on a two-wheeler, your monthly bill is likely a fair bit higher.
Public transport is barely in the picture
Even Maharashtra, which tops the list (thank you, Mumbai locals), only gets about one in five city workers onto a metro or train.
So what’s holding public transport back?
If cost isn’t the obvious barrier, my guess is last-mile connectivity. Fix the stretch to and from the station, and I think a lot more of us will make the switch.
Who was surveyed
India’s first-ever national survey of how households travel, run by the National Statistics Office (MoSPI).
A small confession
Full disclosure: I’m being a hypocrite, because I still ride my two-wheeler to work most days. If I had last-mile connectivity, I would definitely ditch my two-wheeler or car while getting to work.
What would it take to get you onto a bus or a metro?
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