National Household Travel Survey: walking leads student commute
Why in the news
The National Statistics Office (NSO) under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation released the results of the National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) for July 2025 to June 2026 on 5 October 2026.
Key facts
- Coverage: 4,92,023 households and 20,34,371 persons in 14,274 villages and 10,377 urban blocks; trips longer than 1 km were counted.
- Students: walking 37.0%, bus 29.5%, bicycle 15.8%, auto-rickshaw 10.5%; average time to institution 23 minutes, with 87.6% reaching within 30 minutes.
- Workers: two-wheeler 42.6% (52.3% urban, 37.1% rural), walking 28.3%, bicycle 10.7%; average commute 25 minutes.
- Overnight trips: 70.2% were for social and religious reasons; culture, leisure, sports and tourism made up 7.4%.
| Indicator | Students | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Top mode | Walking (37.0%) | Two-wheeler (42.6%) |
| Average one-way time | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Average monthly cost (all India) | ₹443 | ₹785 |
| Monthly cost: rural / urban | ₹361 / ₹617 | ₹612 / ₹1,044 |
| Overnight trip mode | Share |
|---|---|
| Bus | 55.8% |
| Railways | 17.7% |
| Car | 15.1% |
| Two-wheeler | 8.8% |
About the survey
The NHTS is conducted by the NSO, MoSPI, to collect household-level data on daily and overnight travel, including mode, purpose, duration and expenditure. Such data helps in planning public transport and urban mobility.
Exam angle
- Remember the leading modes: walking for students, two-wheelers for workers, buses for overnight trips.
- Urban workers spend more on commuting (₹1,044 a month) than rural workers (₹612).
- Conducting agency: NSO under MoSPI.