Indians favour two-wheelers, but buses and trains dominate overnight travel: NSO survey

New Delhi: Indians rely heavily on private two-wheelers for getting to work, while buses and trains dominate longer overnight journeys, according to the first-ever all-India National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) released by the National Statistics Office (NSO) on Monday.

Two-wheelers accounted for 42.6% of workers travelling to fixed workplaces, making them the largest single mode for regular work travel. By contrast, buses accounted for 55.8% of household overnight journeys and inter-city railways for another 17.7%, together accounting for 73.5% of such travel.

Conducted between July 2025 and June 2026, the survey provides a nationwide picture of how, why and how frequently Indians travel. It is intended to provide an evidence base for transport infrastructure planning, public transport routes and service scheduling.

The survey covered 14,274 villages and 10,377 urban blocks, collecting information from 492,023 households and 2.03 million people across the country. It is the first dedicated national survey to comprehensively capture household travel behaviour, including modes, purposes, frequency, duration and expenditure.

The NSO defined travel for the survey as a trip involving a distance of at least one kilometre. Trips shorter than one kilometre were excluded.

Longer journeys

Public transport assumes greater importance when Indians travel overnight. Buses accounted for 55.8% of household overnight journeys, while inter-city railways accounted for 17.7%. Cars made up 15.1% and two-wheelers 8.8%.

Rail use was significantly higher among urban households. About 22.7% of overnight journeys by urban households were undertaken by railway, compared with 14% among rural households, highlighting the continuing importance of rail for longer-distance mobility from cities.

Overnight travel also remains driven overwhelmingly by social and religious requirements rather than tourism. Social, communication and religious activities accounted for 70.2% of overnight household trips, with the share broadly similar in rural and urban India.

Tourism-related travel, including culture, leisure, sports and tourism, accounted for 7.4% of overnight trips, rising to 9.3% in urban areas. Travel for self-care and maintenance accounted for another 6.5%.

Daily mobility

Patterns differ considerably by purpose. Among students travelling to educational institutions, walking was the most common mode, accounting for 37% of trips, followed by buses at 29.5% and bicycles at 15.8%.

The survey found that 66.4% of students aged six years and above travelled more than one kilometre daily to attend their educational institution. The proportion was 65.6% in rural areas and 68.1% in urban areas.

Young people aged 15-29 had the highest regular participation in education-related travel. Among this age group, 79.1% of rural students and 73.3% of urban students undertook daily trips to educational institutions.

Travel times were relatively short for most students and workers. About 87.6% of students reached their educational institutions within 30 minutes, while 83.4% of workers reached their fixed workplaces in less than 30 minutes.

Commuting nevertheless represents a recurring household expense, particularly in cities. The average monthly expenditure on travel to a fixed workplace was ₹785 per worker, but the figure was substantially higher in urban areas at ₹1,044, compared with ₹612 in rural areas.

Students spent an average of ₹443 a month commuting to educational institutions. Urban students spent ₹617, against ₹361 for rural students.

The survey also shows a gender gap in work-related travel expenditure. Male workers spent an average of ₹835 a month commuting to fixed workplaces, compared with ₹533 for female workers.

For other within-day trips unrelated to education or employment, two-wheelers remained the most widely used mode at 32.2%, followed by walking at 24.9%, auto-rickshaws at 18.9%, bicycles at 12.6% and buses at 8.5%.

The government said the NHTS would help identify gaps in existing transport systems, assess accessibility, optimize routes and improve service frequency and scheduling. The data is also expected to support regional transport planning and infrastructure investment by providing a more detailed understanding of where people travel, when they travel and why they travel.

About the Author

Subhash is the infrastructure editor at Mint and tracks the momentous developments taking place in the space that is fast changing the Indian landscape. He finds reporting to be a passion that provides the necessary adrenaline rush and keeps you going.

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