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Question

Difficulty: HardWeaken

Transit Analyst: Following the introduction of a universal fare-free policy on Metroville's municipal bus network, total daily passenger boardings increased by 35 percent over eighteen months. The municipal transit board concluded that eliminating ticket fares was the direct cause of this ridership surge, proving that financial cost had been the primary deterrent to public transit usage.

Statement: The transit board's conclusion is significantly undermined if the city simultaneously closed two major vehicular bridges to private automobiles while doubling bus service frequency along those transit corridors.

Answer: Answer

Answer

True
The evaluation that the statement undermines the argument is correct. The transit analyst commits a causal error by attributing a 35 percent ridership increase solely to the removal of fares. By demonstrating that the municipality enacted major disincentives to private driving (bridge closures) and drastically increased the convenience and availability of transit (doubled bus frequency) concurrently, the statement supplies compelling alternate causes for the surge, thereby weakening the board's conclusion.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the argument's core premises and conclusion
Premise: Bus boardings rose by 35% after fares were eliminated. Conclusion: Eliminating fares was the direct cause of the surge and financial cost was the primary deterrent.
Isolating the conclusion exposes the author's causal leap from a mere correlation (fare elimination and ridership rise) to an exclusive causal relationship.
2
Determine the central assumption and vulnerability
The transit board assumes that no other concurrent factors or service modifications caused the increase in bus boardings during the eighteen-month window.
Causal arguments on the LSAT are vulnerable to alternate causes and unaddressed confounding factors that occurred during the same timeframe.
3
Evaluate the impact of the supplementary statement
Restricting private automobile traffic on major bridges while doubling bus frequencies creates strong incentives and service improvements that explain higher bus usage independent of fare policy.
Providing a viable alternative explanation undermines the board's conclusion that fare elimination was the primary causal factor.

Key Concept

Weaken an argument by providing an alternative causal explanation for an observed correlation
Estimated Time:1m 30s
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