Uber Intercity Road Trips Surge in India Driven by Highway Expansion and Long Weekends

India's expanding highway network and more long weekends are fuelling a sharp rise in Uber Intercity road trips, with Tier-2 city routes growing fastest. Uber data shows travellers increasingly choosing road travel for weekend getaways, heritage destinations and leisure holidays as improved highways reshape intercity travel across India.

India's expanding highway network is reshaping the way people travel, with faster roads and more long weekends encouraging a growing number of Indians to swap flights and trains for road trips.

Fresh data from Uber suggests the country's intercity travel boom is increasingly being powered by regional routes, weekend breaks and leisure destinations rather than only journeys between major metropolitan centres.

The latest edition of the Uber Intercity Travel Index, based on aggregated intercity trip data between April and June 2026, shows India's busiest road corridors continue to connect large cities. However, the strongest growth is now emerging from Tier-2 city routes and shorter leisure journeys, reflecting changing travel preferences as road infrastructure improves.

Highway to growth

India's growing preference for road travel has been underpinned by a rapid expansion of the country's highway network over the past decade. Government said India has the world's second-largest road network, with National Highways stretching 146,560 kilometres, forming the backbone of long-distance road transport.

The highway network has expanded by around 61% from 91,287 kilometres in 2014 to 146,560 kilometres at the end of last year. At the same time, the length of four-lane and wider National Highways, including access-controlled highways and expressways, has more than doubled, rising from 18,371 kilometres in 2014 to 43,512 kilometres.

The expansion is set to continue. Bloomberg reported in September 2025, citing people familiar with the matter, that India plans to increase its network of high-speed roads fivefold over the next decade through an investment of about ₹11 lakh crore ($125 billion). The plan envisages adding 17,000 kilometres (10,563 miles) of access-controlled highways, allowing vehicles to travel at speeds of up to 120 kilometres an hour, as the government seeks to modernise transport infrastructure, improve connectivity and reduce logistics costs.

Uber Intercity data shows India's highway network is changing road travel

The index found that Mumbai-Pune, Delhi-Agra, Bengaluru-Mysuru, Lucknow-Kanpur and Ahmedabad-Vadodara remained the country's busiest Uber Intercity routes by trip volume.

At the same time, Ahmedabad-Vadodara, Delhi-Dehradun, Bengaluru-Mysuru, Delhi-Chandigarh and Chennai-Puducherry ranked among the fastest-growing intercity corridors, pointing to rising demand for regional road trips as highways reduce travel times between cities.

The data also showed strong demand for leisure travel during the summer months. Weekend trips to destinations including Dehradun, Puducherry, Nashik and Aurangabad gained momentum, while heritage and pilgrimage centres such as Agra, Mysuru, Prayagraj, Ajmer and Udaipur continued to attract significant intercity traffic.

"A combination of safer intercity travel options like Uber Intercity along with an expanding and improved road infrastructure is driving road trips across India - not just between major cities, but increasingly across regional corridors and to destinations that offer unique cultural, spiritual and leisure experiences," Shiva Shailendran, Director – Revenue & Category Management, Uber India & South Asia, said.

Long weekends are becoming a major driver of India's road trip boom

The Uber Intercity Travel Index also points to another shift in travel behaviour. Indians are increasingly planning holidays around long weekends, combining public holidays with leisure leave to make shorter breaks more frequent.

Demand for Uber Intercity journeys climbed around the May Day holiday on May 1 and the Bakrid long weekend on May 28, suggesting travellers are making greater use of improved highways for short-distance holidays.

The data also highlights how frequently some customers now rely on intercity road travel. Some riders completed nearly 30 Uber Intercity trips during the three-month period, while others covered almost 1,500 kilometres travelling between cities.

Tier-2 cities emerging as the next growth engine for intercity travel

While traditional metro corridors continue to generate the highest traffic, Uber's data suggests future growth is increasingly coming from regional routes connecting smaller cities.

The fastest-growing Tier-2 corridors included Ahmedabad-Vadodara, Thrissur-Kochi, Indore-Ujjain, Kanpur-Lucknow and Ranchi-Jamshedpur, reflecting stronger demand for shorter regional journeys as highway connectivity continues to improve.

“Travellers are driving down to nearby destinations, a pattern we are seeing consistently across all major cities,” MakeMyTrip CEO Rajesh Magow told ET last month. “Group travel is up, whether families or friends travelling together, and that is reflected in a clear uptick in intercity cab and bus bookings on our platform.”

He said the demand picked up almost immediately as schools closed for summer vacations, which is consistent with the seasonal pattern.

Mumbai-Pune, Delhi-Agra remain India's busiest Uber Intercity routes

According to the index, Mumbai-Pune, Delhi-Agra, Bengaluru-Mysuru, Lucknow-Kanpur and Ahmedabad-Vadodara remained India's busiest intercity routes by trip volume.

Among weekend getaways, Mumbai-Nashik, Mumbai-Aurangabad, Delhi-Dehradun, Delhi-Agra and Chennai-Puducherry emerged as the most popular routes during the April-June period.

Heritage and pilgrimage destinations including Agra, Mysuru, Prayagraj, Ajmer and Udaipur attracted strong travel demand, while Puducherry, Dehradun and Kochi ranked among the most visited beach and hill destinations.

The report also highlighted changing travel habits in several cities. The most-booked round trips included Hyderabad-Yadagirigutta and Hyderabad-Kurnool; Delhi-Agra and Delhi-Sikar; Bengaluru-Nandi Hills, Bengaluru-Magadi, Bengaluru-Dharmapuri and Bengaluru-Mandya; and Pune-Ahmednagar and Pune-Satara.