The mayor concludes that the proposed fee of five dollars per day on private vehicles entering the city will alleviate the city's traffic congestion.
How does the mayor reach that conclusion?
- "The fee will exceed the cost of round-trip bus fare from many nearby points" - So it will be cheaper to take the bus than to take your car and pay the fee.
- According to the mayor, since the bus is the cheaper option, "many people will switch from using their cars to using the bus."
- If many people switch from using their cars to using the bus, that should alleviate the city's traffic congestion (fewer vehicles on the roads).
The mayor believes that people will choose the cheaper option. Is that necessarily the case? Maybe there are other factors besides cost that affect commuters' transportation decisions.
We are looking for evidence that the mayor's logic is flawed:
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(A) Projected increases in the price of gasoline will increase the cost of taking private vehicle into the city.
If this is true, then people would have even greater financial incentive to take the bus. This would make the mayor's plan more likely to succeed. If gas prices were going to
decrease, then the mayor might have a problem. As is, choice (A) does not describe a flaw in the mayor's reasoning. Eliminate (A).
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(B) The cost of parking fees already makes it considerable more expensive for most people to take a private vehicle into the city than to take a bus.
If the fee is implemented, the bus will certainly be the cheaper option. According to the mayor, this financial incentive will cause people to opt for the bus instead of taking their own private vehicles.
But choice (B) tells us that taking a private vehicle is ALREADY
considerably more expensive than taking the bus. So the existing CONSIDERABLE financial incentive to take the bus is not enough to alleviate traffic. In that case, why should we expect that a small increase in the financial incentive will make people switch to the bus?
Sure, the $5 fee might be enough to persuade
some people to switch to the bus. Everyone has their own "price point" for taking their own vehicle. Slightly increasing the cost of commuting by private vehicle might be enough to push some people over the edge.
But the mayor's entire argument rests on the power of financial incentive. Choice (B) shows that traffic congestion exists despite
considerable financial incentive. This suggests that an incremental increase to the financial incentive will not be enough to convince MANY drivers to take the bus. Choice (B) doesn't prove that the mayor's plan will fail, but it certainly exposes a flaw in the mayor's reasoning. Keep (B).
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(C) Most of the people currently riding the bus do not own private vehicles.
The mayor doesn't care about people who already ride the bus. Will people who currently drive private vehicles switch to the bus if a $5 fee is implemented? Choice (C) does not provide evidence either way, so eliminate (C).
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(D) Many commuters opposing the mayor's plan have indicated that they would rather endure traffic congestion than pay a five dollar per day fee.
Choice (D) tells us why many commuters
oppose the mayor's plan. But commuters' opinion of the plan is irrelevant. If the plan is implemented, will many drivers switch to the bus (regardless of whether they are
happy about it)? If so, then the mayor's plan will be a success. Choice (D) is irrelevant and can be eliminated.
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(E) During the average workday, private vehicles owned and operated by people living within the city account for twenty percent of the city's traffic congestion.
Obviously the mayor's plan will not affect the 20% who live in the city and drive their own vehicles. If this percentage were much higher, then (E) might demonstrate a flaw in the mayor's reasoning. But if only 20% fall into this category, then the fee will likely affect a large chunk of drivers from outside the city. If anything, this actually
supports the mayor's reasoning. Eliminate (E).
(B) is the best answer.
I also chose B as I found it to be better than other options. But in B we are assuming that "already expensive + 5 dollar " will not break the ice. What if people finally give up private car considering it to be even more costlier than before?