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Question

Difficulty: EasyPoint at Issue and Point of Agreement

Elena: To reduce city traffic congestion and cut down on carbon emissions, the municipal government should eliminate fares on all public city buses. Making public transit completely free is the most effective incentive to get drivers out of their cars and onto buses.

Marcus: Eliminating fares will not solve our congestion problem. Most people drive because the bus routes are infrequent and unreliable, not because of the ticket price. If the city eliminates fares, transit revenue will collapse, preventing the city from making the necessary scheduling and route improvements needed to actually attract drivers.

Elena and Marcus's statements provide the strongest support for the claim that they disagree over which one of the following?

  1. A
    Attracting automobile drivers to public transit is a desirable goal for the city.
  2. Eliminating bus fares would be an effective measure for reducing traffic congestion.Answer
  3. C
    No driver will choose to ride a bus under any circumstances unless public transit is entirely free.
  4. D
    Increasing bus schedule frequency will automatically guarantee that municipal transit revenue increases.
  5. E
    The city's current bus fares are significantly higher than fares in other comparable metropolitan transit systems.

Answer

Eliminating bus fares would be an effective measure for reducing traffic congestion.
The claim that eliminating bus fares would be an effective measure for reducing traffic congestion passes the two-speaker test cleanly. Elena explicitly argues that eliminating fares is the most effective incentive to reduce traffic congestion, whereas Marcus directly states that eliminating fares will not solve the city's congestion problem.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the first speaker's argument and identify their stated position.
Elena asserts that eliminating bus fares is the most effective incentive to get drivers onto buses and thereby reduce traffic congestion.
Point at issue questions require determining the explicit or committed stance of each speaker.
2
Analyze the second speaker's argument and identify their response to the first speaker's claim.
Marcus explicitly counters that eliminating fares will not solve the congestion problem, arguing that frequency and reliability matter more to drivers than ticket prices.
The correct point of disagreement must be an issue where one speaker says 'yes' (agrees) and the other says 'no' (disagrees).
3
Apply the two-speaker test to evaluate which statement captures their direct disagreement.
Elena believes fare elimination will effectively reduce congestion (YES), while Marcus believes it will not solve the congestion problem (NO).
A valid point of disagreement requires both speakers to take clear, opposing truth-value positions on the exact same proposition.

Key Concept

Point of Disagreement (Two-Speaker Test)
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Point at Issue and Point of Agreement

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