Tristate Transportation Authority

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Tristate Transportation Authority

by Ankitaverma » Wed Nov 20, 2013 12:29 pm
According to the Tristate Transportation Authority, making certain improvements to the main commuter rail line would increase ridership dramatically. The authority plans to finance these improvements over the course of five years by raising automobile tolls on the two highway bridges along the route the rail line serves. Although the proposed improvements are indeed needed, the authority's plan for securing the necessary funds should be rejected because it would unfairly force drivers to absorb the entire cost of something from which they receive no benefit.

Which of the following, if true, would cast the most doubt on the effectiveness of the authority's plan to finance the proposed improvements by increasing bridge tolls?

(A) Before the authority increases tolls on any of the area bridges, it is required by law to hold public hearings at which objections to the proposed increase can be raised.
(B) Whenever bridge tolls are increased, the authority must pay a private contractor to adjust the automated toll-collecting machines.
(C) Between the time a proposed toll increase is announced and the time the increase is actually put into effect, many commuters buy more tokens than usual to postpone the effects of the increase.
(D) When tolls were last increased on the two bridges in question, almost 20 percent of the regular commuter traffic switched to a slightly longer alternative route that has since been improved.
(E) The chairman of the authority is a member of the Tristate Automobile Club that has registered strong opposition to the proposed toll increase.

Q/A-D why not c
Source: — Critical Reasoning |

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by theCodeToGMAT » Thu Nov 21, 2013 12:05 am
{C} - Between the time a proposed toll increase is announced and the time the increase is actually put into effect, many commuters buy more tokens than usual to postpone the effects of the increase.

--> The commuters may delay the effect by say 1 month or 2 month.. but after this period the effect will be visible.. So, the plan will be successful in long term.

{D} - When tolls were last increased on the two bridges in question, almost 20 percent of the regular commuter traffic switched to a slightly longer alternative route that has since been improved

--> This means that ridership is decreasing with the increase of toll prices.. So, with further increase in prices may result in further decrease in ridership, resulting in lesser revenue. So, this brings the plan effectiveness in doubt

Answer [spoiler]{D}[/spoiler]
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by Abhishek009 » Mon Nov 25, 2013 11:25 am
Ankitaverma wrote:According to the Tristate Transportation Authority, making certain improvements to the main commuter rail line would increase ridership dramatically. The authority plans to finance these improvements over the course of five years by raising automobile tolls on the two highway bridges along the route the rail line serves. Although the proposed improvements are indeed needed, the authority's plan for securing the necessary funds should be rejected because it would unfairly force drivers to absorb the entire cost of something from which they receive no benefit.

Which of the following, if true, would cast the most doubt on the effectiveness of the authority's plan to finance the proposed improvements by increasing bridge tolls?

Q/A-D why not c
(C) Between the time a proposed toll increase is announced and the time the increase is actually put into effect, many commuters buy more tokens than usual to postpone the effects of the increase.

This is a very common phenomenon , people in anticipation of a price hike will buy more , but there is a limit to it , one can't go on stacking lot of it...

The passage mention - " The authority plans to finance these improvements over the course of five years by raising automobile tolls on the two highway bridges along the route the rail line serves. "

So, commuters will have to buy tokens for the next five years in advance to postpone the effect of the increase which is not logical.



(D) When tolls were last increased on the two bridges in question, almost 20 percent of the regular commuter traffic switched to a slightly longer alternative route that has since been improved.

The authority is planning to raise the funds by raising the tolls and the project is estimated to take five years ...

However if the commuters switch to some alternate route then there might be some problem raising the funds..

Hence this condition might challenge the proposed improvement project..
Abhishek