The daily journey from his home to his office takes John Bond on average an hour and 35 minutes by car. A friend has told him of a different route that is longer in mileage, but will only take an hour and a quarter on average, because it contains stretches of road where it is possible to drive at higher speeds.
John Bond's only consideration apart from the time factor is the cost, and he calculates that his car will consume 10% less gasoline if he takes the suggested new route. John decides to take the new route for the next two weeks as an experiment.

If the above were the only other considerations, which one of the following may have an effect on the decision John has made?

A) Major road work is begun on the shorter (in distance) route, which holds up traffic for an extra 10 minutes. The project will take six months, but after it, the improvements will allow the journey to be made in half an hour less than at present.
B) There is to be a strike at local gas stations and the amount of gasoline drivers may purchase may be rationed.
C) John finds a third route which is slightly longer than his old route, but shorter than the suggested route.
D) The old route passes the door of a work colleague, who without a ride, would have to go to work by bus.
E) None of the above.

if we assume that john has given equal weightage to two of his considerations, then B might come in strong to change his mind.

if this assumption fails, I will go with E

A..who cares what's gonna happen after 6 mnths?

This one is very challenging, any other takers before I divulge the official answer?

Official answer: C
_________________

Best Regards,

Paul

A and B both argue against the old route, but why wouldn't they "have an effect on the decision John has made"?

They might reinforce or make him feel better about his decision.

This question is absurd. Is this another LSAT question?

Paul--

Your rationale is, indubitably, correct.

But I wish the asshats who wrote the question would have asked "If the above were the only other considerations, which one of the following may prompt/entice/encourage/motivate John to change his decision?"

Why is your wording of the question such a an vast improvement over that which is given (other than being more wordy)?

One definition of "effect" is:

"Something that produces a specific impression or supports a general design or intention."

By this definition, A and B are correct, because by reinforcing his choice, they "support" his "intention".

So "effect", as it is used in the question, is imprecise and ambiguous.

And I should have been more clear with the slashes-- I was trying to convey that any of the words in my slashful amalgam would be improvements over the word chosen by the writer of the question.