For a commuter in the city, around 15.6 per cent of the monthly average income goes to meet the daily transport cost.
A Comprehensive Transportation Study (CTS) taken up by Lea Associates on behalf of Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) for the Hyderabad Metropolitan Area (HMA) noted that the expenditure on transport in a way was proportional to the personal income of a commuter.
It stated that the transport-related expenditure rose with rising income, and through surveys of different income groups and their travel modes, concluded that on an average a commuter in HMA spends about Rs. 1,540 per month on transport.
According to the survey, if a commuter with a monthly income up to Rs. 5,000 spends Rs. 422 for transport, then a commuter with an income of above Rs.1 lakh on an average, ends up shelling out Rs. 1,873 per month.
“Average expenditure on transport by commuters using different modes shows that users of two-wheelers spend about 70 per cent more than bus users,” says the report. At the same time, car users spend about 120 per cent more than that of bus users. The MMTS service happens to the cheapest mode of transport with its users spending 20 per cent less than bus users for their commuting needs.
“The income of the household has a profound effect on the choice of mode of transport for going to work”, says the report, adding that “with increase in income, walk is replaced with two-wheeler and two-wheeler with car as driver and then car as driver is replaced with car as passenger.”