Perspectives on Efficiency in Transportation

This paper considers the engineer's, economist's, manager's, and planner's perspectives on effectiveness for transportation respectively. This paper examines both the measures used in each perspective, weighs their advantages and disadvantages for various purposes. The first section summarizes various measures of mobility that are used to assess transportation. This is followed by an exposition of transportation consumer surplus and its limitations. Similar treatment of accessibility and productivity are provided. The conclusions call for consideration of equity and for taking the subjective point of view of the traveler rather than the "objective" point of view of the omniscient planner/engineer/economist/manager.