Last year, before the Edgeville train service was discontinued because

Question

Last year, before the Edgeville train service was discontinued because of low ridership, total fares collected from that service were substantially lower than the cost of operating the service. Few of the former users of the service are willing to pay more for the service than they paid last year. Therefore, since passenger fares constitute the only allowable funding source, restoring the Edgeville service would result in serious deficits.

Which of the following, if true, most seriously calls the argument into question?

(A) Once rail service along a given route has been discontinued, there are substantial start-up costs associated with restoring service along that route.

(B) With the construction of many new apartment buildings in communities near Edgeville, the number of potential riders for the train service has significantly increased from last year to this year.

(C) After the train service was discontinued last year, many former rail commuters purchased automobiles and would be unlikely to return as rail customers.

(D) As a result of the dosing of several factories in Edgeville, average salaries of potential customers of the train service have decreased over the past five years.

(E) Several stores that were once located only In the Edgeville business district near the train station now have branches that are conveniently located In communities adjoining Edgeville.

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balaji4799 · Answer

Nice question , relatively simple, we would have to find an option choice which explains a reason for increase in ridership and only option B does that effectively .

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getahead · Answer

Like Balaji said Option B simply provides the justification needed which is how ridership could increase that could reduce the deficit. lets look at why other options are wrong

Option A: Strenghens the argument saying more costs in restoring but does not talk about revenue from the service.

Option C : Strengthens argument saying ridership will further reduce thus increasing the deficit

Option D and E : Less incentive for people to take trains hence strengthens the argument

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hemantbafna · Answer

Seriously calls the argument into question would be like weakening.
I thought of following reasons:
A- The option rather strengthens the argument of restoring the Edgeville service would result in serious deficits.
B- As the passenger fares constitute the only allowable funding source, with  the number of potential riders for the train service has significantly increased from last year to this year ; we can expect the funding to increase , restoring the Edgeville service  might not  result in serious deficits. This calls the argument into question.
C-Not related to the funding.
D-Not related to funding of the train service.
E-Stores could locate back, not directly related.

B  is the best answer.

sahilhafnia · Answer

In any CR question, we need to relate it to the real world and then find the gaps in the scenario as it is put in front of us by the author of the small passage.

Here, the scenario is that the ridership on the Edgeville train service was too low,so the service had to be shut down.Now a few riders are willing to give more fee for the ride they will take. But the train service, even if restarted, will be solely dependent on the fee paid by its riders and so author expects that the losses will happen.

Given this situation, the author concludes that restoring the service will only lead to losses. So what can be the gap in the author's logic ?
How can we break it or atleast weaken it?

I argue : " what if the ridership increases ? " 
Doesn't it seem that the author is simply assuming that the ridership will stay the same as before.But what if now the situation has changed now ?

Will the author then be able to say that the deficit will be more ? What if the earning because of high ridership now compensates all the costs and inputs.

With this sense and logic in our mind, let us see the options :

1.This option indicates that now the cost of restarting the service will be even more than before. This essentially gives me a negative feeling " oh, in such a case , may be the costs will now become more, the income is not guaranteed anyways" .The option gives favours the author's conclusion and not my opposition this time.
In short, it strengthens the conclusion and not weaken it. So it's not the correct choice.

2. This statement gives a potential cause and effect. The effect is stated directly, that is, the ridership will increase. This, in turn, increases my belief in the stand I had taken and decreases the belief in the author's conclusion. Because,in such a scenario, it is possible that income from rider fees will now compensate the costs and notlead to losses or deficits. It weakens the author's conclusion and so a possible correct answer.

3. Now if old riders have bought automobiles by now , it is possible that they will prefer using them only. This indicates that perhaps now the ridership will not increase. Supports author's conclusion and weakens my opposition. Incorrect.

4. If the average salary of potential customers of the train service has decreased, it logically indicates that now they will be having even lesser money to spend on the train ride. Many might not prefer in fact taking the ride now. Weakens my statement that ridership might increase. So strengthens the conclusion. Incorrect choice.

5. Now, several stores have come up in adjoining areas of Edgeville. We can infer that now, people will travel less for buying from stores in Edgeville and so might not use the train service anymore. Again, this only strengthens the conclusion and adds no weight to my position. Incorrect choice.

Correct answer: B

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Last year, before the Edgeville train service was discontinued because

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