Tiki Rajwi By

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Did you know that 25.09 per cent workers in Kerala travel to their workplace on foot while 46.77 per cent use some type of motor transport? Or that only 3.85 per cent pedal a bicycle to work?

Data on ‘Other Workers’ compiled by the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, Government of India, as part of the decennial census in 2011 provides interesting reading on the nature of how Keralites go to work. The state-level break-up on distance from residence to workplace and mode of travel was released in New Delhi the other day.

The state has 93.53 lakh workers using various modes of travel to reach their workplaces. They include 68.82 lakh men and 24.70 lakh women. Of them, 43.74 lakh people (46.77 per cent) depend on motor transport, including buses, boats, cars and trains. ‘Other Workers’ signify all people who work except those involved in agricultural labour. But, it includes plantation workers and plantation owners,’’ said A N Rajeev, Deputy Director, Census Operations, Kerala.

Bus is the preferred choice for most in Kerala with 28.46 per cent (26.62 lakh workers) boarding one operated by either the KSRTC or private players. Twenty three lakh workers walk to work, while 1.84 lakh hop on a train. A little over 2.76 lakh workers (2.95 per cent) depend on cars, jeeps or vans, but this group has only 43,484 women. In all, 3.51 lakh prefer the ubiquitous bicycle, 10.49 per cent (9.81 lakh) ride a motorcycle, scooter or the decreasingly popular moped to their workplaces, and this group include 69,379 women.

Of the 49,347 people taking a boat, 10,337 are in Alappuzha. A little over 8,000 people use a boat to go to work in Ernakulam. Almost 23.92 per cent workers work at home, while 16.95 per cent live within a kilometre of their workplace and 25.56 per cent live within two and five kilometres. A small percentage - 2.53 per cent - travels over 50 km to work.

In the case of women, Thiruvananthapuram has more women travelling to work than any other district. Of the over 10 lakh workers in the district, 3.25 lakh are women. Ernakulam is second with 2.93 lakh women workers who have to travel.