A discussion of this requires that we look at who exactly is determining the parameters of efficiency and for what purpose. We might be examining the efficient use of time. Or we might be examining the efficient use of energy. And there are individual efficiencies at issue as well as collective efficiencies.
People who are driving their own cars on the road might be viewing efficiency from a completely individual perspective. Or they might be viewing efficiency only from a temporal perspective. For example, if I have an appointment that will require my car in the afternoon, it may not be efficient for me to take a bus to work, take a bus home, and then get in my car and drive somewhere, depending on where I live and where that somewhere is. I am using my car so that I can be efficient in my use of time. A manager might have to inspect three different production plants on a given day. To use public transportation to do so might be highly inefficient in terms of time and money, since the manager might be paid at a high rate, and for the good of the entire company, not just the manager, it is most efficient to have him or her use the car.
Alternatively, if many people use public transportation, there is a more efficient use of fuel and space on the roads, from a societal perspective. It is more efficient to get 50 people downtown on two gallons of gasoline than for each of them to get there on their individual two gallons. It is more efficient because it reduces traffic jams, allowing everyone to get there faster. When we are looking at societal priorities in a discussion of efficiency, it is a very different matter.
I think what appears to be a conflict is the result only of how one defines efficiency, for which particular resource or resources, and for whom the efficiency is being defined. It's a question of which resources are being used efficiently and one's perspective, individual or collective.
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