News: Commute Time Key for 70% of Office Occupiers: CBRE-15-09-2026
Nearly 70% of office tenants treat employees’ travel time as an important factor when picking an office location, and nearly 18% are willing to pay a premium for better access to public transport, according to a CBRE report released on September 15.
The findings come from Commute Counts, a report by CBRE South Asia Pvt. Ltd based on its Inside the Occupier Mind series. It shows occupiers judging urban infrastructure through a wider lens of liveability. Poor air quality and AQI levels were named by 50% of occupiers as a major infrastructure threat to operations and employee experience. Water availability and quality were flagged by 31%, and waste management and sanitation by 29%.
Anshuman Magazine, chairman and CEO - India, South-East Asia, Middle East & Africa, CBRE, said infrastructure access is now central to where corporates locate, and that connectivity investment and commercial real estate value have become inseparable. Ram Chandnani, Managing Director, Leasing Services, India, CBRE, said commute has become "non-negotiable", with transit proximity weighed at the shortlisting stage in several transactions, before commercial terms are discussed.
The report links upcoming infrastructure to leasing. In Mumbai, Metro Lines 2B (DN Nagar-Mandale), 4 (Wadala-Kasarvadavali) and 6 (Lokhandwala-Vikhroli), planned for completion by 2027, should support the Worli, BKC and Powai corridors. In Delhi-NCR, the Golden Line between Aerocity and Tughlakabad, targeted for 2027, and the proposed Yamuna Pushta elevated expressway bypass to Jewar Airport are drawing occupier interest. Chennai’s six-lane greenfield Peripheral Ring Road, due by the end of 2026, and Pune’s runway extension and Purandar Airport are expected to open cost-effective submarkets for technology Global Capability Centres (GCCs).
