New Delhi, Oct 5 (IANS): Two-wheelers are the predominant mode of transport for commuting to fixed workplaces in India, accounting for 42.6 per cent of workers, and the average monthly expenditure on commuting to a fixed workplace is Rs 785 per worker, a survey by the National Statistics Office (NSO) revealed on Monday.
Urban workers incur a substantially higher average monthly cost of Rs 1,044 for travel to workplaces, compared with Rs 612 for rural workers.
Around 87.6 per cent of students reach their educational institutions within 30 minutes, while 83.4 per cent of workers commute to their fixed workplaces in less than 30 minutes, said the findings.
About 57.6 per cent of workers travel more than 1 km to work. Over half of all workers aged 15 years and above perform within-travel-day trips to fixed or non-fixed workplaces (54.5 per cent rural compared to 64.1 per cent urban).
“States such as Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh show average travel times of around 20–23 minutes, with higher travel times in parts of southern India,” showed the NSO survey.
Nearly 61.9 per cent of male workers undertake daily work trips (less than 1 km) compared to 41.9 per cent of female workers nationwide.
While monorail, metro, suburban rail, and trams account for 5.0 per cent of urban worker commutes nationally, usage surges in Maharashtra (20.7 per cent), West Bengal (16.5 per cent), and Delhi (14.4 per cent).
When it comes to students, nearly two-third of students aged 6 years and above undertake within-travel-day trips of at least 1 km to attend their basic course educational institution (65.6 per cent in rural areas; 68.1 per cent in urban areas).
North-eastern states, including Assam and neighbouring states, show considerably less travel time (15 to 19 minutes).
Students aged 15-29 record the highest regular trip participation at 79.1 per cent in rural India and 73.3 per cent in urban India for daily commute to attend educational Institutes.
Autorickshaws serve 10.5 per cent of commuting students overall (rising to 14.4 per cent in urban areas), while two-wheelers account for 6.7 per cent (11.5 per cent in urban areas), said the survey.
