Communication—Caveats Concerning Efficiency/Effectiveness Measures of Mass Transit Performance

In a recent article in Management Science, Savas [Savas, E. S. 1978. On equity in providing public services. Management Sci.24 (8, April) 800–808.] discusses performance measures in the provision of public services, states that it is difficult, but not impossible, to develop measures for efficiency and effectiveness, and discusses some of the measures that have been used in various industries. It should be noted, however, that in some fields the widely used efficiency and effectiveness indicators do not measure what they are intended to, and should be subject to further critical examination.