BENGALURU: As fuel prices in the nation soared for the fourth time in 11 days, responses from Bengaluru residents in a survey conducted by Local Circle showed that 61% of the respondents were struggling with transportation costs, and only 39% of the total pool were content with continuing their current modes of transport.
A total of 8,943 respondents from Bengaluru participated in the study. Among them, 48% complained of rising costs of other products as well; 37% complained of rising costs of services, and 39% said that their lives had not been severely impacted. 57% said that they had chosen to cut down on non-essential travel and outings.
A shift to lower-cost transport options like vehicle pooling, public transit, two-wheelers, and more was preferred by 19% of the respondents; 29% said that they would choose to combine trips; 30% said they would cut down on other expenses to prioritise fuel; 21% said that they would settle for products and services that were closer to their homes to not have to travel far.
Optional and luxurious purchases took a backseat for 14% of the respondents, and 17% admitted that they had yet to make any drastic changes to their travel.