Can this really be right?

Expert replies

Musicolo: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 116; Joined: Sun Feb 01, 2009 10:56 am

by Musicolo » Tue Mar 03, 2009 12:23 pm

A certain mayor has proposed a fee of five dollars per day on private vehicles entering the city, claiming that the fee will alleviate the city's traffic congestion. The mayor reasons that, since the fee will exceed the cost of round-trip bus fare from many nearby points, many people will switch from using their cars to using the bus.

Which of the following statements, if true, provides the best evidence that the mayor's reasoning is flawed?

A) Projected increases in the price of gasoline will increase the cost of taking a private vehicle into the city.

B) The cost of parking fees already makes it considerably more expensive for most people to take a private vehicle into the city than to take a bus.

C) Most of the people currently riding the bus do not own private vehicles.

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.

E) During the average workday, private vehicles owned and operated by people living within the city account for 20% of the city's traffic congestion.

I will later post the OA which to me does not make much sense.
I would first like to read some of your thoughts.

Thanks

Source: Beat The GMAT — Critical Reasoning | Tue Mar 03, 2009 12:23 pm

hk: MBA Student; Posts: 532; Joined: Wed Jan 28, 2009 1:39 pmFollowed by: 9 members; Location: Barcelona; Thanked: 33 times; GMAT Score:640

by hk » Tue Mar 03, 2009 1:24 pm

I think its B.
Reasoning: The mayor has imposed a fee to reduce the traffic congestion. The statement that would weaken would provide evidence that even if this plan is implemented, the traffic congestion issue would not be solved.

A) Projected increases in the price of gasoline will increase the cost of taking a private vehicle into the city. - Out of scope/supports the argument

B) The cost of parking fees already makes it considerably more expensive for most people to take a private vehicle into the city than to take a bus. - Since cost of parking already would have made people to take the bus, the traffic congestion is caused by people who are ready to pay the fee. So introducing the fee would not change the minds of people causing the traffic congestion.

C) Most of the people currently riding the bus do not own private vehicles. Irrelevant

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 - irrelevant

E) During the average workday, private vehicles owned and operated by people living within the city account for 20% of the city's traffic congestion. - Means 80% of the traffic congestion is caused by outsiders which does not tell us if they would take the bus if the fee was introduce. - so incorrect.

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iwant700plus: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 33; Joined: Thu Feb 19, 2009 7:19 pm; Location: DC; Thanked: 2 times

by iwant700plus » Tue Mar 03, 2009 3:38 pm

I also think its B. The mayor's reasoning is that if he imposes the fee, the bus will be less expensive than the car, therefore people who are using cars will switch. But B tells us that these people are already paying more than the cost of the bus, if you include parking. Mayor's argument falls apart.

quocbao: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 88; Joined: Tue Mar 03, 2009 8:10 am; Thanked: 3 times

by quocbao » Tue Mar 03, 2009 9:44 pm

I think I will choose E.

The major assumes that reduce the private vehicle traffic will reduce the congestion, but actually it's only 20%

hk: MBA Student; Posts: 532; Joined: Wed Jan 28, 2009 1:39 pmFollowed by: 9 members; Location: Barcelona; Thanked: 33 times; GMAT Score:640

by hk » Wed Mar 04, 2009 10:55 am

quocbao wrote:
The major assumes that reduce the private vehicle traffic will reduce the congestion, but actually it's only 20%

Your argument actually supports the statement. Since its only 20%, by implementing a fee the major might actually reduce a bigger portion of private vehicles coming from outside (Since its 80%)!!!

Wanna know what I'm upto? Follow me on twitter: https://twitter.com/harikrish

mason77: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 100; Joined: Tue Aug 05, 2014 11:28 am

by mason77 » Sat May 14, 2016 1:29 am

I will choose B

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