The article discusses how policymakers can measure and improve the efficiency of transportation operators. It explains that costs in the transport sector include both controllable and uncontrollable factors. Policymakers need to distinguish between these to incentivize operators to perform better while protecting users and taxpayers. Techniques exist to assess efficiency changes, but implementing them can be challenging. However, policymakers have successfully used these techniques to hold operators accountable for poor performance in imperfect markets.