One in Five Indians Use Their Feet to Get to Office
BANGALORE: Looking into the 21st century, over one in five Indians are said to walk to their work while a meager 15pct said they use public transportation. Around 33pct take up different kinds of transportation such as trains and buses to get to their work place which is about 20 km from their homes. An added 23pct walk while a good 30pct work at homes, reports TOI.
These figures have been rounded up by the recently published 2011 Census data that has looked into the various modes of transportation used by working people who have a 20km distance standing between their office and homes. Although Agricultural workers and domestic helps were not included in the survey that was conducted for 20 crore workers, 4.5 crore used their legs to get from home to work and back, these worker are mostly found in rural areas.
Shreya Gadepalli Institute of Transportation and Development Policy regional director said "In urban areas, a large number of people who walk to work are poor. They often walk long distances in spite of inconvenient and dangerous conditions because they cannot afford any other form of transport."
Experts view these figures as yet another attempt for taking into account the amenities for pedestrians.
"The percentage of women who walk to work is even higher in urban areas. However, wide, continuous and shaded footpaths along with safe and frequent street-level crossings can entice higher-income people too to walk," Shreya added. When it comes to rural areas, the main reason for people to walk to work is because of the lack of available transport facilities.
With 11.4pct of workers in the country take up buses while 3.5pct of workers use the train, this includes MRTS and Metros in cities like Chennai. Apart from accessing bicycles and walking, the most preferred transportation is the two wheelers, this comprises of around 75pct of urban areas while a minute2.7pct access cars, vans or jeeps. Auto rickshaw or a taxi takes up only 3pct of the workers population
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