November 16, 2026

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HOW INDIA MOVES

Our country has witnessed many dramatic transformations on its long journey of growth and infrastructural development. The acceleration of high-speed train networks, metro systems, the liftoff of private aviation and the expansion of a skein of multilane highways are phenomena many of us have witnessed--often with hope but not infrequently with frustration at the disruptions, delays and miscalculations that have accompanied them. While the sense that major change--however stuttering--is afoot has been pervasive, what has been less clear is an analysis of just how this has changed the lives and travel habits of the average Indian commuter or tourist.Now, thanks to the recent release of two major surveys covering lakhs of citizens across the country, that picture has become much clearer. One of these, the first National Household Travel Survey (NHTS), covering 492,000 households, was released in October. The other, the 2026 Domestic Tourism Expenditure Survey (DTES)--covering a sample base of 246,113 households--was released in September. The latter also offered data with some time range, as it built on a previous survey conducted a decade earlier. Together, they offer a wealth of data on India in motion: from preferred modes of travel to the reasons we travel and how much time and money we are willing, or obliged, to spend on the road.As it turns out, some of the flashier aspects of transportation infrastructure--aviation and metros--are still insignificant in comparison with rubber wheels on tarmac. Perhaps the primary contest that emerges from the surveys is that between private vehicles and buses as India's transport of choice. How our urban and highway planners prioritise infrastructure for each of these categories will clearly be of some consequence. Other startling findings in the surveys reflect the scale and growth of pilgrimage and religious yatras as an engine of parsimonious tourism--characterised by high footfalls with low spend. What emerges, as you will see in the following pages, is a complicated picture reflecting both where we are and where we are headed. It also offers an opportunity to consider the road ahead and decide wherever we need to change lanes.

WHY WE ARE A TWO-WHEELER NATION

For five years, Mohit Kashyap, now 30, would cycle seven kilometres from his home in Chirag Dilli to Sundar Nagar, where he worked as a gar- dener. The journey would take him 45 minutes. Then came marriage and a Honda Activa scooter as a wedding gift, which reduced his commute by 25 minutes. Of course, he could also take Bus No. 419, which would get him close to his place of work in 15 minutes. Yet he rarely takes it. "Seat nahin milti. Kabhi late bhi ho jaata hai (I can't find a seat. Sometimes, it's late too)," he says.Kashyap's choice ref lects a larger trend in how India travels. According to the country's first National Household Travel Survey (NHTS), among Indians travelling at least one kilometre to work, 42.6 per cent primarily use two-wheelers. In cities, the share rises to 52.3 per cent. Urban buses carry just 9.2 per cent of commuters, while metros, suburban trains, monorails and trams together account for another 5 per cent. Cars, in comparison, account for a mere 5.7 per cent."We were taken aback by the large share of two-wheelers," says R. Gopalakrishnan, an Indian Railway Traffic Service officer and divisional railway manager, Secunderabad, who was part of the expert group that designed the survey. "We were perhaps not ready for the fact that public transport penetration is so very low." The ministry of railways had sought such a survey for six years to guide investment and service planning. Conventional transport statistics offered an incomplete picture, says Saurabh Garg, secretary, ministry of statistics and programme implementation (MoSPI), which conducted the exercise. "For the first time, the survey puts people's actual needs at the centre of that data," adds Gopalakrishnan.The findings help explain the enduring appeal of two-wheelers. According to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), Indians bought 21.7 million motorcycles and scooters in FY26, up 10.7 per cent from 19.6 million the previous year and 44 per cent from 15.1 million five years ago. Two-wheelers account for more than 77 per cent of new vehicle sales."A good public transport system will not be at the cost of two-wheeler demand and sales," says P.K. Banerjee, former executive director of SIAM. "Rural India moves on two-wheelers. Cities need two-wheelers because buses can't go to doorsteps. Otherwise, who is interested in investing and keeping an asset that is underutilised? People want that freedom."