New Delhi, May 15 -- Commuting to work in India looks vastly different depending on which state you were in. In Tamil Nadu and Kerala, the public bus was key. In Uttar Pradesh and Odisha, bicycles kept millions moving. And in much of Maharashtra, walking remained the norm, reflecting sharp divides in mobility access across the country.

Walking remained the most common mode of commuting to work over short distances - between 0 and 10 kilometres - in Maharashtra, followed by Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, according to Census 2011 data.

In Maharashtra, nearly five million people walked to work daily. Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal followed with just over four million and 3.8 million people, respectively.

While walking dominated short-dist...