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The heavy traffic in Masana is a growing drain on the city's economy 29 Oct 2022, 13:05
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jabhatta2
Hi avigutman - quick clarification on (B)

(B) talks about "without congestion pricing"

Question - what inferences can i make regarding on the opposite - "without with congestion pricing"

Can i say

  • "without with congestion pricing" - traffic may grow at 10 %
  • "without with congestion pricing" - traffic may grow at 0 %
  • "without with congestion pricing" - traffic may also grow at 6 % [same as "without congestion pricing"]
  • "without with congestion pricing" - traffic may grow at 2 %
  • "without with congestion pricing" - traffic may grow at (-5 %)

My understanding is - all 5 inferences are possible, even 6 % growth
Show more
You're asking about making inferences, jabhatta2. But, what are the premises? All I'm seeing is that "officials plan to introduce congestion pricing, by which drivers would pay to enter the city's most heavily trafficked areas during the busiest times of the day."
Based on that I can't make any inferences about what congestion pricing would lead to.
Perhaps rephrase your question?
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The heavy traffic in Masana is a growing drain on the city's economy 29 Oct 2022, 14:54
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avigutman

You're asking about making inferences, jabhatta2. But, what are the premises? All I'm seeing is that "officials plan to introduce congestion pricing, by which drivers would pay to enter the city's most heavily trafficked areas during the busiest times of the day."
Based on that I can't make any inferences about what congestion pricing would lead to.
Perhaps rephrase your question?
Show more

Hi avigutman - i think my word "inference" was wrong. Instead the word should have been "possibilities"

Are these all "possibilities" regarding "Congestion pricing" with regards to traffic growth. ?

Quote:

  • "without with congestion pricing" - traffic may grow at 10 %
  • "without with congestion pricing" - traffic may grow at 0 %
  • "without with congestion pricing" - traffic may also grow at 6 % [same as "without congestion pricing"]
  • "without with congestion pricing" - traffic may grow at 2 %
  • "without with congestion pricing" - traffic may grow at (-5 %)
Show more
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The heavy traffic in Masana is a growing drain on the city's economy 29 Oct 2022, 18:34
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jabhatta2
avigutman

You're asking about making inferences, jabhatta2. But, what are the premises? All I'm seeing is that "officials plan to introduce congestion pricing, by which drivers would pay to enter the city's most heavily trafficked areas during the busiest times of the day."
Based on that I can't make any inferences about what congestion pricing would lead to.
Perhaps rephrase your question?

Hi avigutman - i think my word "inference" was wrong. Instead the word should have been "possibilities"

Are these all "possibilities" regarding "Congestion pricing" with regards to traffic growth. ?

Quote:

  • "without with congestion pricing" - traffic may grow at 10 %
  • "without with congestion pricing" - traffic may grow at 0 %
  • "without with congestion pricing" - traffic may also grow at 6 % [same as "without congestion pricing"]
  • "without with congestion pricing" - traffic may grow at 2 %
  • "without with congestion pricing" - traffic may grow at (-5 %)
Show more
Sure, anything is possible.
Now, if you're going to go ahead and assume that *all else is equal*, then we can think about the expected impact of charging drivers a fee to enter the city's most heavily trafficked areas during the busiest times of the day.
How would you expect such a fee to impact traffic growth, *all else being equal*, jabhatta2?
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The heavy traffic in Masana is a growing drain on the city's economy 30 Oct 2022, 06:32
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avigutman

Sure, anything is possible.
Now, if you're going to go ahead and assume that *all else is equal*, then we can think about the expected impact of charging drivers a fee to enter the city's most heavily trafficked areas during the busiest times of the day.
How would you expect such a fee to impact traffic growth, *all else being equal*, jabhatta2?
Show more

Hi avigutman -

"All else being equal" -- the impact of congrestion pricing is that the number of drivers will reduce..

I assumed the blue, which is why i was attracted to (B)

How do you eliminate (B) then ?

(B) says -- without congestion pricing -- traffic growth will increase by 6 % over the next five years

Hence, i should be able to assume "all else being equal" -- with congestion pricing -- traffic growth will be lower than 6 % over the next 5 years.

I have seen experts eliminate (B) because experts are saying "perhaps with congestion pricing -- its still possible for traffic to have grown at 6 % over the next five years"
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The heavy traffic in Masana is a growing drain on the city's economy 30 Oct 2022, 14:49
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jabhatta2

(B) says -- without congestion pricing -- traffic growth will increase by 6 % over the next five years

Hence, i should be able to assume "all else being equal" -- with congestion pricing -- traffic growth will be lower than 6 % over the next 5 years.
Show more
Very good! But, why does this indicate that the plan will be a success? What does success look like, jabhatta2?
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The heavy traffic in Masana is a growing drain on the city's economy Updated on: 30 Oct 2022, 19:05
Originally posted by jabhatta2 on 30 Oct 2022, 19:00.
Last edited by jabhatta2 on 30 Oct 2022, 19:05, edited 1 time in total.
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avigutman
jabhatta2

(B) says -- without congestion pricing -- traffic growth will increase by 6 % over the next five years

Hence, i should be able to assume "all else being equal" -- with congestion pricing -- traffic growth will be lower than 6 % over the next 5 years.
Very good! But, why does this indicate that the plan will be a success? What does success look like, jabhatta2?
Show more

well i think its a success avigutman because

(1) without congestion pricing - traffic growth is 6 %
(2) with congestion pricing -- traffic growth is LESS THAN 6 %

Given percentage is (2) is LOWER than the percentage in (1) -- congestion pricing is a success.

How much lower than 6 % - i dont know (When i introduce congrestion pricing)

As long as traffic growth is LOWER THAN 6 % -- I consider that a sucess for "congestion pricing".
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The heavy traffic in Masana is a growing drain on the city's economy 30 Oct 2022, 19:05
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jabhatta2
As long as traffic growth is LOWER THAN 6 % -- I consider that a success for "congestion pricing".
Show more
You have to tie it all back to the passage, which states "In order to address this problem..."
So, what is the problem that is to be addressed?
"The heavy traffic in Masana is a growing drain on the city's economy—the clogging of the streets of the central business district alone cost the economy more than $1.2 billion over the past year."
So, I ask again: what does success look like, jabhatta2?
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The heavy traffic in Masana is a growing drain on the city's economy Updated on: 30 Oct 2022, 19:22
Originally posted by jabhatta2 on 30 Oct 2022, 19:08.
Last edited by jabhatta2 on 30 Oct 2022, 19:22, edited 3 times in total.
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avigutman
jabhatta2
As long as traffic growth is LOWER THAN 6 % -- I consider that a success for "congestion pricing".
You have to tie it all back to the passage, which states "In order to address this problem..."
So, what is the problem that is to be addressed?
"The heavy traffic in Masana is a growing drain on the city's economy—the clogging of the streets of the central business district alone cost the economy more than $1.2 billion over the past year."
So, I ask again: what does success look like, jabhatta2?
Show more

hi avigutman - the chain of events is

(i) clogging of the streets of the central business --> (ii) growing drain on city's economy

Success thus is achieving :
(i) de-clogging the streets of the central business
and/or
(ii) reducing the drain on the economy

I would argue (ii) is the ultimate goal but no answer choice touches on (ii) - "Reducing drain on the economy"

Hence we have to focus on success via de-clogging

Both answer choices - (B) and (C) - focus on - de-clogging

-----------
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The heavy traffic in Masana is a growing drain on the city's economy 30 Oct 2022, 19:19
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jabhatta2
Both answer choices - (B) and (C) - focus on the first goal - de-clogging
Show more
In what way does the information in (B) help convince you that the congestion pricing will help with de-clogging, jabhatta2?
If you were skeptical of the plan's likelihood of achieving its aim, would the information in (B) do anything to convince you that perhaps congestion pricing might help after all?
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The heavy traffic in Masana is a growing drain on the city's economy 30 Oct 2022, 19:24
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avigutman
jabhatta2
Both answer choices - (B) and (C) - focus on the first goal - de-clogging
In what way does the information in (B) help convince you that the congestion pricing will help with de-clogging, jabhatta2?
If you were skeptical of the plan's likelihood of achieving its aim, would the information in (B) do anything to convince you that perhaps congestion pricing might help after all?
Show more

Hi avigutman

Okay i think (C) is better than (B) because (B) will only help wtih de-clogging if you add a bunch of qualifiers

(B)LESS THAN 6 % growth will only help with de-clogging if

-- the growth is less than 0 %
-- if growth (post introducing congestion pricing) is 1 % growth instead or 2 % growth instead or 3 % growth instead -- then the congestion pricing -- technically would not help with "De-clogging" as cars are technically increasing [albeting by much lower percentages]

-----------------------------------------

(C) de-clogging is MORE certain because carpooling (Even by a little bit) is always going to help with de-clogging

Hence (C) is better than (B) ?
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The heavy traffic in Masana is a growing drain on the city's economy 30 Oct 2022, 21:55
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jabhatta2


Try to avoid thinking in terms of "better than." On a strengthen question, one answer will strengthen, and the others will not. Answer choice B doesn't strengthen at all--not even a little bit--and it's important to dig in until you see why.

What Avi has been asking is what B does to convince us that congestion pricing will help. You're saying that if it leads to < 6% growth, that's an improvement. Sure, it would be, but what evidence do you have that it would lead to < 6% growth? How do we know things wouldn't be just as bad or worse if we used congestion pricing? Think of it this way: If I keep renting my current apartment, I will run out of money by the end of 2023. So what will happen if I move to your apartment building? Will I run out of money sooner? Later? We have no idea, because we have no information about the relative cost. Same thing in our original argument--we have no information about what will happen if we DO institute congestion pricing. That's the whole problem, and that's where C comes in. It gives us reason to believe that this change would do something to reduce traffic. That's why it strengthens when none of the other choices do.
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The heavy traffic in Masana is a growing drain on the city's economy 30 Oct 2022, 22:46
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Hope you don't mind my jumping in jabhatta2

(B) helps to convince us that something needs to be done about the congestion. But it does not give us any reason to believe that congestion pricing will do the trick -- and that is what the question is asking: Which of the following, if true, would most strongly indicate that the plan will be a success?

Suppose I modify (B) this way:
    (B) Planners expect that, without congestion pricing Vedic rituals, traffic in Masana is likely to grow by 6 percent in the next five years.
Will this help to convince you that the Vedic ritual plan will be a success?
Then how will (B) convince anyone that Congestion Pricing will be a success?




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The heavy traffic in Masana is a growing drain on the city's economy 31 Oct 2022, 09:43
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jabhatta2
Okay i think (C) is better than (B) because (B) will only help with de-clogging if you add a bunch of qualifiers

(B)LESS THAN 6 % growth will only help with de-clogging if

-- the growth is less than 0 %
-- if growth (post introducing congestion pricing) is 1 % growth instead or 2 % growth instead or 3 % growth instead -- then the congestion pricing -- technically would not help with "De-clogging" as cars are technically increasing [albeting by much lower percentages]
Show more
Excellent points by DmitryFarber and vv65. I think if I were already skeptical of the plan, reading answer choice (B) would make me even more skeptical! I didn't realize how bad the situation was, and how difficult it would be to "address this problem" until I read answer choice (B). So, if anything, I'd say that (B) reduces the likelihood of success. It certainly gives no indication whatsoever that the plan will be a success, jabhatta2.
It still seems to me like you were trying to answer the wrong question, which is why I kept pushing for you to define what success looks like. I see no new information in (B) that would help convince us that congestion pricing will fix anything.
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The heavy traffic in Masana is a growing drain on the city's economy 16 Feb 2023, 04:05
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ChiranjeevSingh
Understand the Passage


The heavy traffic in Masana is a growing drain on the city’s economy – the clogging of the streets of the central business district alone cost the economy more than $1.2 billion over the past year.This statement says that heavy traffic is taking an increasing toll on the Masana’s economy. The part after hyphen gives a specific statistic to emphasize the point. It says that the heavy traffic in the given district cost the economy a significant amount in the last year.

In order to address this problem, officials plan to introduce congestion pricing, by which drivers would pay to enter the city’s most heavily trafficked areas during the busiest times of the day.The statement starts with “in order to address the problem”. We need to be absolutely clear what problem we are trying to address. The problem is that heavy traffic is negatively impacting the economy. So, addressing the problem will mean reducing the negative impact of the traffic on the economy.

What is the plan to do so?

The plan is to charge congestion pricing to the drivers entering the city’s most heavily trafficked areas during the busiest times.

Predict an Answer


The plan’s objective is to reduce negative impact of the heavy traffic on the economy. The plan is to charge congestion pricing to people driving during the busy times.

What do you think is the assumption underlying the plan?

The fundamental assumption is that such congestion pricing will deter people from driving in heavy traffic areas during busy times. Right?

Because if people continue to drive during busy hours, the plan will not meet its objective.

So, any option that indicates that this assumption is valid will be a strengthened.

Option Analysis


(A) Incorrect. What proportion of the vehicles are in transit from one end to the other end is irrelevant.

Are these vehicles not going to pay congestion pricing?

There is nothing to suggest that they will not.

Are these guys not going to be affected by congesting pricing?

Again, nothing here suggests so.

So, this option has no impact whatsoever on the argument.

(B) Incorrect. What happens without congestion pricing is irrelevant.

Even if the traffic grows by 50% without congestion pricing, this information will not impact whether congestion pricing is going to reduce traffic or not.

Think about it. Let’s say I ask you whether taking classes from XYZ institute will help me. If you say that without the institute I’ll fail, this information will not help me. I still don’t know whether after joining the institute, I’ll pass.

Even if you say that without the institute I’ll score 90%, this information also doesn’t answer my query. Probably after joining the institute, my score will go up to 95%. So, the institute may still help.

Similarly, a knowledge of what happens without congestion pricing will not help us evaluate the effectiveness of congestion pricing.

(C) Correct. If, in other areas, congestion pricing has encouraged carpooling, it might do so in Masana too. In such a case, the traffic is likely to go down, suggesting that the plan will meet its objective.

Some people may say here that Masana may be different from other areas. If the plan has worked in other areas, we cannot be sure that it’ll work in Masana too.

I’ll agree to these people. We cannot be “sure” that the plan will work in Masana too. However, the objective here is not to be “sure” but to just “support” that the plan will work.

The question to ask is: does your belief in the plan increase after reading this option?

If the answer is yes, this option is the correct option.

[
Quote:
color=#ed1c24](D) Incorrect. Option D is just presenting a benefit of the reduction in traffic, not telling us anything about whether the plan will succeed or not.[/color]

Hi sir, Will a benefit not increase the belief in conclusion. ?
I see two benefits in choice D
1. By charging congestion prices, the city will compensate the lose to economy to some extent.
2. In addition to above, it will create jobs, compensating to the lose to economy through taxes.

However, I see that this is not the correct answer, there may be a better reason why it is not correct.
Brainstorming a bit , I have arrived at the following reasoning for choice C . Can you please tell if my reasoning is along the lines or not ?
1. By car pooling - no. of cars will reduce , hence traffic will reduced. As a result the loss incurred due to congestion will reduce by a larger extent which may not be possible even if people doesn't deter and agree to pay the price.
2. challenging D- what if the traffic is reduced by only 14% then we cannot be sure that jobs will be created.



(E) Incorrect. Again, doesn’t matter whether 30% or 50% or 80% of the vehicles are occupied by more than one person, the point is whether the congestion pricing will reduce traffic. This option doesn’t give us any relevant information to evaluate that.
Show more



[
Quote:
color=#ed1c24](D) Incorrect. Option D is just presenting a benefit of the reduction in traffic, not telling us anything about whether the plan will succeed or not.[/color]
Show more
ChiranjeevSingh

Hi sir, Will a benefit not increase the belief in conclusion. ?
I see two benefits in choice D
1. By charging congestion prices, the city will compensate the lose to economy to some extent.
2. In addition to above, it will create jobs, compensating to the lose to economy through taxes.

However, I see that this is not the correct answer, there may be a better reason why it is not correct.
Brainstorming a bit , I have arrived at the following reasoning for choice C . Can you please tell if my reasoning is along the lines or not ?
1. By car pooling - no. of cars will reduce , hence traffic will reduced. As a result the loss incurred due to congestion will reduce by a larger extent which may not be possible even if people doesn't deter and agree to pay the price.
2. challenging D- what if the traffic is reduced by only 14% then we cannot be sure that jobs will be created.
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The heavy traffic in Masana is a growing drain on the city's economy 23 Mar 2023, 08:21
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Why A is wrong? If the 20% of f the vehicles in the central business district are in transit from one side of the city to the other, taxing the drivers who enter the city's trafficked area could help reduce traffic in the district center

Why C is right? Even if congestion pricing helped to reduce traffic in other urban areas, NOT necessarily the strategy will work in Masana

I notice that in some CR questions some alternatives present some analogies, for example, if taxing companies reduced air pollution in the Boston area, the same will work in NY area- the one presented in the argument - such as the analogy in question (589). If taxing OTHER urban areas reduced traffic, so taxing the central district area will reduce traffic as well, and therefore the answer choice is correct. In the other hand, sometimes, the analogy is irrelevant, so the answer choice is wrong. So, how will I know that the answer choice using this kind of comparison will be right or wrong? The only thing I can think of is using process of elimination. Does that make sense?!

Many tks!
The plan is to make drivers pay to enter the city's most heavily trafficked areas during the busiest times of the day. We need to select the answer that most strongly suggests that the plan will reduce the traffic congestion.

Quote:
A. Approximately one-fifth of the vehicles in the central business district are in transit from one side of the city to the other .
Choice (A) tells us that one-fifth of the vehicles are in transit from one side of the city to the other, so, yes, congestion pricing might encourage those drivers to take an alternate route. But congestion pricing could also have NO effect on those drivers, who might prefer to pay a fee rather than drive all the way around the city. Choice (A) does not present any evidence indicating how those drivers will react, if at all, to the congestion pricing. And what about the other four-fifths of the vehicles? Will their drivers be affected by the congestion pricing?

The biggest problem with (A) is that it does not present any evidence to suggest HOW the drivers will react to the congestion pricing.

Quote:
C.In other urban areas, congestion pricing has strongly encouraged carpooling (sharing of rides by private commuters).
True, just because it worked somewhere else does NOT NECESSARILY mean it will work in Masana. But we are not asked to PROVE that the plan will work. We only need something that STRONGLY INDICATES that the plan will be a success.

Choice (C) provides evidence regarding HOW other drivers reacted to congestion pricing, exactly the kind of evidence that was lacking in choice (A). Thus, we now have EVIDENCE that the plan could have a similar on drivers in Masana. Sure, this doesn't prove anything, but it is better than (A) and the other options.

Whether the analogous situation is relevant will depend on what they are asking. Regardless, process of elimination is definitely your best friend!

I hope that helps!
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Hi GMATNinja

I have another point to add in support of (A). Here we are talking of the plan's success. So, even if the people do not change their mind and they pay a fee to enter the busiest areas of the district it is going to have a positive effect on the economy as that will negate the loss of $1.2 upto a certain extent and if they do change their habits, the plan is a success overall. So both ways I get this option more sound.

Could you please through some light where am I getting it wrong???
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The heavy traffic in Masana is a growing drain on the city's economy 28 Mar 2023, 19:27
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GMATking94

First, be careful about making assumptions about the economic effects of this action. This isn't something we're in a situation to do. We have absolutely no idea whether the plan will generate a significant amount of revenue, nor would the GMAT expect us to count on such an unknown. However, more importantly, answer choice A doesn't provide any relevant information to change our assessment. Why do we want to know whether drivers are going from one side of the city to another vs. making a shorter trip vs. driving in from outside the city? All we want to know is whether the fee will succeed in reducing congestion, and A doesn't give us any insight there. It's important to accept that A isn't close or "sorta right." It's a big zero! :) The more you get the feeling for what kind of information we can reasonably use to fill a gap in the argument, the easier this will all get. To use A, we'd have to build an additional chain of assumptions that we have no license to make.
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The heavy traffic in Masana is a growing drain on the city's economy 13 Jan 2024, 02:51
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I was stuck between A and C but eventually went with C because just thinking about it visually helps - I just questioned myself whether people travelling from one end of the city to the other would make any difference at all in whether the congestion pricing scheme would work or not (which is ultimately what we're trying to find out)
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The heavy traffic in Masana is a growing drain on the city's economy 15 Feb 2024, 06:40
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Skywalker18
The heavy traffic in Masana is a growing drain on the city's economy—the clogging of the streets of the central business district alone cost the economy more than $1.2 billion over the past year. In order to address this problem, officials plan to introduce congestion pricing, by which drivers would pay to enter the city's most heavily trafficked areas during the busiest times of the day.

Which of the following, if true, would most strongly indicate that the plan will be a success?


(A) Approximately one-fifth of the vehicles in the central business district are in transit from one side of the city to the other .

(B) Planners expect that, without congestion pricing, traffic in Masana is likely to grow by 6 percent in the next five years .

(C) In other urban areas, congestion pricing has strongly encouraged carpooling (sharing of rides by private commuters).

(D) Several studies have shown that a reduction in traffic of 15 percent in Masana could result in 5,500 or more new jobs.

(E) Over 30 percent of the vehicles in the city's center are occupied by more than one person


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Evaluation of a Plan

Situation
Traffic congestion in Masana has been harming the city's economy. To address the problem, officials plan to make drivers pay to enter the city's most heavily trafficked areas during the busiest times of day.

Reasoning
What would most strongly suggest that the plan will reduce the harm to Masana's economy from traffic congestion? In order to succeed, the plan will have to be implemented and effectively enforced. Furthermore, the prices drivers pay will have to be high enough to significantly change their behavior in ways that reduce the amount of traffic congestion in the city. Finally, the economic benefits from the reduced traffic congestion will have to substantially outweigh any economically damaging side effects of the congestion pricing. Any evidence that any of these conditions will hold would provide at least some support for the prediction that the plan will succeed.

(A) This provides no evidence that the congestion pricing would affect the behavior of either the one-fifth of drivers whose vehicles traverse the city or of the other four-fifths of drivers, nor does it give any evidence that the plan would produce overriding economic benefits.

(B) This indicates that the traffic problem will grow worse if the plan is not implemented, but it does not provide any evidence that the plan will help address the problem.

(C) Correct. This indicates that similar plans have successfully changed drivers' behavior in other cities in a way likely to reduce the number of cars on the road in heavily trafficked areas at busy times of day without producing harmful economic side effects. Thus, it provides evidence that the strategy could also be successful in Masana.

(D) Although this suggests that reducing traffic congestion would be economically beneficial, it doesn't provide any evidence that the plan will succeed in reducing traffic congestion.

(E) This suggests that many drivers in the city center are already carpooling, which, if anything, indicates that the plan will be less able to further affect those drivers' behavior and thus could be less effective than it might otherwise be.

Masana's Traffic

Step 1: Identify the Question

The question asks for the answer that would indicate that the plan will be a success, so this is a Strengthen the Argument question.

Step 2: Deconstruct the Argument

Traffic hurts econ

→cost =1.2B

Plan: congestion pricing

Step 3: Pause and State the Goal

On Strengthen questions, the goal is to find an answer that makes the conclusion more likely. In this problem, look for a reason that congestion pricing will be more likely to address the traffic congestion and associated economic issues in Masana.

Step 4: Work from Wrong to Right

(A) Based on this answer 20% of drivers are going across the city, and 80% are driving for other purposes. There is no clear relationship between this information and the effectiveness of congestion pricing (i.e. are drivers traversing the city more or less likely to not drive if congestion pricing is implemented?).

(B) The argument establishes that traffic is already a problem. This answer suggests that this problem is likely to get worse in the next five years, but this information does not help evaluate whether congestion pricing will help.

(C) CORRECT. This answer states that congestion pricing was effective in reducing traffic in other cities because commuters carpooled, reducing the number of cars on the road. Knowing that a plan worked in a similar situation supports the idea that the plan might have its intended effect in Masana.

(D) This answers links the traffic issues to economic issues, stating that there is information that a reduction in traffic could benefit the economy through the creation of jobs. It does not, however, address whether the specific plan of implementing congestion pricing would result in reduced traffic.

(E) If anything, this answer weakens the argument because it suggests that additional carpooling (encouraging carpooling is one way that congestion pricing might reduce traffic) may not be feasible in Masana because many cars already contain multiple passengers.
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­
Hi AnthonyRitz,
Here I am again ,with the same doubt , what to assume and what not to..:dazed
:please: help me improve my thinking and approach towards the Answer Choices.

Lets come the Correct Answer ie OPTION C:
Quote:
(C) In other urban areas, congestion pricing has strongly encouraged carpooling (sharing of rides by private commuters).
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I have read replies of many experts. Almost all talk in the below lines:- 
Quote:
If, in other areas, congestion pricing has encouraged carpooling, it might do so in Masana too. In such a case, the traffic is likely to go down, suggesting that the plan will meet its objective.

Some people may say here that Masana may be different from other areas. If the plan has worked in other areas, we cannot be sure that it’ll work in Masana too.

I’ll agree to these people. We cannot be “sure” that the plan will work in Masana too. However, the objective here is not to be “sure” but to just “support” that the plan will work.

The question to ask is: does your belief in the plan increase after reading this option?

If the answer is yes, this option is the correct option. 
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So, in Option C we are assuming that if in other areas congestion pricing encourage carpooling , then it might do so in Masana too.

Lets comes to OPTION A:
Quote:
(A) Approximately one-fifth of the vehicles in the central business district are in transit from one side of the city to the other .
Show more
Just the way OPTION C increases our belief in the plan , I belive OPTION A also.

Opponents of this Answer choice argue that :-

1/  Is the payment by 1/5 th of the vehicle enough to address the financial issue of the economy ?
2/ Will these 1/5 vehicle travel through the Central business district during the busiest time of the day ( so  that they will have to pay congestion pricing ) ?

According to me , if we can assume in OPTION C that what happened in other urban areas will happen in Masana too ( Even though we have no clue whether other urban areas and Masana are similar . What if people of Masana donot prefer Carpooling ?)
I beleive we can assume that 1/5 th of the vehicle will pass through central business district during the busiest hour---> will pay congestion pricing ----> consequently will have a positive financial impact on the economy.

In OPTION C we are equating other urban areas to Masana. Thats like saying what worked in New York will work in Washington DC.  This assumption is wayyy too stretched. 
But, the assumptions in OPTION A are not assumptions in a way. They are logical deductions which I find more reasonable .

Please guide

Regards­­­­­
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The heavy traffic in Masana is a growing drain on the city's economy 12 Apr 2024, 10:59
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KarishmaB

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please explain why option B is wrong

Heavy traffic in Masana is draining the city's economy
Plan: Introduce congestion pricing

What will most strongly indicate that the plan will be a success?

(A) Approximately one-fifth of the vehicles in the central business district are in transit from one side of the city to the other .

Doesn't say whether these people will stop entering the busy areas because of congestion pricing. No info on the plan.

(B) Planners expect that, without congestion pricing, traffic in Masana is likely to grow by 6 percent in the next five years .

This tells us what will happen without congestion pricing. It doesn't tell us what will happen with congestion pricing. It doesn't say whether the plan will be successful. It is not implied that with congestion pricing, the problem will be rectified because without congestion pricing it will exacerbate.

(C) In other urban areas, congestion pricing has strongly encouraged carpooling (sharing of rides by private commuters).

So it gives a precedence. In other areas, congestion pricing has encouraged carpooling. Then it is likely that carpooling will be encouraged here too. That might improve the condition of traffic then. Strengthens our plan.

(D) Several studies have shown that a reduction in traffic of 15 percent in Masana could result in 5,500 or more new jobs.

Aim is to reduce traffic congestion.

(E) Over 30 percent of the vehicles in the city's center are occupied by more than one person

Doesn't say how it impacts congestion.

Answer (C)
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Hi KarishmaB

­Could you please explain why option D is not correct?
We are asked why the plan will be a success.
We are given the argument that "the clogging of the streets of the central business district alone cost the economy more than $1.2 billion over the past year." So per option D, if a 15% traffic reduction adds at least 5,500 jobs, then it seems a good thing for the city and provides confidence that the plan will be a success, hence, D strengthens.

Please let me know where my thinking is going wrong here.
Is it wrong because option D doesn't explain how 15% traffic reduction will be reduced which will explain 'why' the plan will be successful?
 
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The heavy traffic in Masana is a growing drain on the city's economy 12 Apr 2024, 11:29
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agrasan


Is it wrong because option D doesn't explain how 15% traffic reduction will be reduced which will explain 'why' the plan will be successful?


 
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Yes.

Choice D is an answer to "If the plan succeeds, what sort of benefits will accrue to the local economy?" This choice just looks at possible consequences IF the plan DOES succeed; it doesn't address the plan's likelihood of success in any way.

As an analogy, let's say I laid out a get-rich-quick business plan and claimed that you'll make $1 million by following it.
If you wanted something that would help to "indicate that this plan will be a success", you'd need evidence that you're actually going to get a million dollars if you follow my instructions. The functional equivalent of Choice D in this case, however, would be something like "If you had a million dollars you'd be able to spend it on _______", a dreamy hypothetical that tells you nothing about your likelihood of actually getting the million bucks.­
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