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Over a fifth of non-agricultural workers in India commute to work on foot, followed by commutes by cycle, moped or motorcycle and bus, Census data shows. Fewer than three per cent take cars or vans, and over half travel less than five kilometres. Nearly a third of the workers do not commute, meaning that they live in or adjacent to their workplaces. Commuting for work is even less common among women workers—45 per cent of women do not commute for work—and higher in rural than in urban areas.
This interactive presents a comprehensive picture of commuting patterns in multiple ways: by gender, modes of transport and five distance buckets. The thickness of the wave is directly proportional to the number of commuters.
Move your mouse over the waves for more information
Among 140 million workers who do commute for work, the distances tend to be quite small. A quarter of commuters travel less than 1 km to work, and another third travel between two and five km. Just 30 million people travel more than 10 km to work, and just 17 million of them have a commute over 20 km. Women commute shorter distances on average than men; the largest category of women commuters travels less than 1 km, while for men, the largest category travels two to five km.
Among 140 million workers who do commute for work, the distances tend to be quite small. A quarter of commuters travel less than 1 km to work, and another third travel between two and five km. Just 30 million people travel more than 10 km to work, and just 17 million of them have a commute over 20 km. Women commute shorter distances on average than men; the largest category of women commuters travels less than 1 km, while for men, the largest category travels two to five km.
Among 140 million workers who do commute for work, the distances tend to be quite small. A quarter of commuters travel less than 1 km to work, and another third travel between two and five km. Just 30 million people travel more than 10 km to work, and just 17 million of them have a commute over 20 km. Women commute shorter distances on average than men; the largest category of women commuters travels less than 1 km, while for men, the largest category travels two to five km.
Among 140 million workers who do commute for work, the distances tend to be quite small. A quarter of commuters travel less than 1 km to work, and another third travel between two and five km. Just 30 million people travel more than 10 km to work, and just 17 million of them have a commute over 20 km. Women commute shorter distances on average than men; the largest category of women commuters travels less than 1 km, while for men, the largest category travels two to five km.
Among those 140 million workers who do commute for work, the distances tend to be quite small. A quarter of commuters travel less than 1 km to work, and another third travel between two and five km. Just 30 million people travel more than 10 km to work, and just 17 million of them have a commute over 20 km. Women commute shorter distances on average than men; the largest category of women commuters travels less than 1 km, while for men, the largest category travels two to five km.
Planning in most cities does not take into account the realities of Indian commuting patterns, experts say. Among those who do have to travel for work, one-third commute on foot, Census data shows. Another 10 per cent use bicycles and 16 per cent travel by bus, while 18 per cent use scooters or motorcycles. More people take auto rickshaws or taxis to work rather than private cars.
For commutes up to 10 km, walking is the most common means of transport, but as commutes grow in distance, people move from travelling on foot to taking buses and two-wheelers. This pattern is, however, significantly different for women. Two-wheelers and cars are rare as women commute mainly on foot up to 10 km, followed by buses.
Even in India’s megacities, walking is the most common mode of commuting. In Delhi, an equal proportion (26 per cent) take the bus, while in all other cities, buses come next. Chennai and Bengaluru have a high proportion of two-wheeler users.
⇒ NOTES
For easy readability, we combined Census categories into modes of transport. So, public transport includes four Census categories (tempo/auto rickshaw/taxi, bus, train and water transport); and private transport includes two Census categories(moped/scooter/motorcycle and car/jeep/van).
“Other workers” are those who, according to the Census, are not engaged in any household industry or agricultural occupations.
Data Source: Census 2011, India