Of every ₹100 a factory adds, ₹43 is profit. Shop-floor wages get ₹14.
India's 2.67 lakh factories added ₹26.9 lakh crore in 2024-25. Of every ₹100, ₹42.9 was net profit and ₹14.1 went to shop-floor wages.
CapitalVia Research Desk ·
Data story · Oct 2026
India's first National Household Travel Survey
Half of India's city workers ride a two-wheeler to work. Bus, metro and train together carry 1 in 7.
The government surveyed 4.9 lakh households over a year to see how India actually gets to work. The commute is shorter, cheaper and far more two-wheeled than the metro-and-traffic story suggests.
52.3%
of urban workers who commute 1 km or more use a two-wheeler as their main mode.
14.5%
bus + metro/suburban + intercity rail, combined
5.7%
drive a car
27 min
average urban trip to a fixed workplace
₹1,044
average monthly commute spend, urban
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How urban India gets to work
Main mode of transport, % of urban workers making a work trip of 1 km+
Two-wheeler52.3%
Walk13.5%
Bus9.2%
Auto-rickshaw8.8%
Bicycle5.8%
Car5.7%
Metro / suburban / tram5.0%
Other (incl. intercity rail)0.8%
Source table shares add to 101.1%, as published. "Other" = intercity rail 0.3%, cycle/pull rickshaw 0.2%, others 0.3%.
3.6×
Two-wheelers carry about 3.6 times as many urban workers as bus, metro and train put together (52.3% vs 14.5%).
Where the metro does matter
Metro / suburban rail / monorail / tram, % of urban worker commutes
Maharashtra20.7%
West Bengal16.5%
Delhi14.4%
All urban India5.0%
Mumbai's locals, Kolkata's rail and Delhi's metro lift their states. Everywhere else, rail barely registers.
Shorter than the traffic memes suggest
Usual time to reach a fixed workplace, urban workers
79.3%
16.6%
Up to 30 min30–60 min60–90 min (3.0%)90 min+ (~1.1%)
One in five urban workers spends more than half an hour each way. Nationally, 94.9% leave for work before 10 AM.
₹1,076
monthly commute spend, urban men
₹884
monthly commute spend, urban women
Why it matters
Salaried employeesFor most city workers, the real commute cost is a two-wheeler: fuel or charging, insurance, upkeep and often an EMI. The survey's ₹1,044 a month is an average across all modes.
FoundersOffice location and parking matter more than metro access for most of the team, except in Mumbai, Kolkata and Delhi.
Business leadersCommute benefits built around cabs and metro passes miss the majority. Two-wheeler safety, parking and EV charging reach more people.
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