TBT
The Mayor's office has indicated that it may move the Greyhound Bus Terminal from the city center to the southern outskirts of the city. The office claims that long-distance buses clog the narrow city roads. It also asserted that these buses do not need to go through the congested city center as they do not have any stop there except the Greyhound Bus Terminal itself. Thus, the traffic in the city can be effectively reduced if no long-distance large buses ply in the area.
Each of the following, if true, weakens the conclusion drawn in the argument EXCEPT:
A. It will be difficult for city dwellers to travel to the South outskirts of the city to catch long-distance buses.
B. The number of long-distance buses from the Greyhound Bus Terminal is a mere fraction of the number of inter-city buses that ply in the city center every day.
C. The long-distance buses are often cancelled because of low ridership.
D. As people are getting increasingly more dependent on their own vehicles, long-distance bus organizers are closing their businesses.
E. Most long-distance buses ply in the city during late nights when the city traffic is at its lowest.
The conclusion is that
moving the terminal will effectively reduce city traffic by removing long-distance buses from the city center. To weaken this, an option should show that the move won’t meaningfully reduce traffic.
Option B weakens by indicating long-distance buses are only a small fraction of total buses, so their removal won’t have much impact.
Option C weakens by suggesting buses are often cancelled, meaning they already contribute little to traffic.
Option D weakens by showing bus services are declining anyway, so their removal is less significant.
Option E weakens by noting buses mostly run at low-traffic times, so they aren’t causing congestion.
Option A discusses difficulty for travelers but doesn’t address whether removing buses reduces traffic. It might imply additional car trips, but this is speculative and not directly tied to the conclusion. Thus,
it does not weaken the argument.
Answer: A