National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) 2026: Key Findings, Data and Highlights

National Household Travel Survey 2026: Explore key findings on student and worker mobility, transport modes, travel time, commuting costs and overnight travel in India.

Table of Contents

Context

The National Statistics Office (NSO) released the findings of India’s first-ever National Household Travel Survey (NHTS), conducted from July 2025 to June 2026.

About the National Household Travel Survey (NHTS)

Nature: India’s first nationwide household survey on travel patterns, covering purpose, mode, distance, duration and expenditure of travel in rural and urban areas.
Coverage: Covered 4.92 lakh households and over 20.34 lakh persons.
Organisation: Conducted by the National Statistics Office (NSO) under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI).
Aim: Provide reliable data for transport planning, infrastructure investment, accessibility assessment and evidence-based policymaking.
Under the NHTS, travel refers only to trips covering 1 km or more. Trips below 1 km are excluded.

Key Findings

Student Mobility: 66.4% of students aged 6+ travel at least 1 km to educational institutions, rising to 77% among the 15–29 age group.
Mode of Student Travel: Walking (37%) is the most common mode, followed by buses (29.5%) and bicycles (15.8%).
Workforce Mobility: 57.6% of workers aged 15+ travel over 1 km to work, with higher mobility in urban areas (64.1%) than rural areas (54.5%).
Gender Gap: 61.9% of male workers make daily work trips compared with 41.9% of female workers.
Two-Wheeler Use: 42.6% of workers primarily use two-wheelers, increasing to 52.3% in urban areas and 37.1% in rural areas.
Travel Time: Average travel time is 23 minutes for students and 25 minutes for workers; most reach their destinations within 30 minutes.
Commuting Cost: Workers spend an average of ₹785 per month on fixed-workplace travel, with urban workers spending ₹1,044 and rural workers ₹612.
Overnight Travel: 73.5% of overnight journeys use buses or railways, including 55.8% by bus and 17.7% by inter-city rail.
Purpose of Overnight Trips: 70.2% are for social, communication and religious purposes, while 7.4% are for tourism and leisure.