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Difficulty: HardEliminating Paradox-Deepening Traps

To combat rising traffic congestion in its downtown business district, the city of Oakhaven recently doubled the frequency of its public bus service and reduced fares. Within three months, city officials noted that the total number of passenger cars entering the downtown district daily had decreased by 30 percent, as many commuters switched to taking the bus. Nevertheless, the average time it takes a vehicle to cross the downtown district during rush hour has significantly increased over the same period.

Which of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the apparent discrepancy?

  1. A
    A major highway bypass was completed recently, successfully diverting a large volume of commercial trucking traffic away from the downtown district.
  2. B
    The percentage of passenger cars in the downtown district that are occupied by only one person is higher now than it was three months ago.
  3. The transit authority accommodated the doubled bus frequency by deploying a fleet of articulated buses that are much longer than standard buses and frequently block multiple lanes at intersections.Answer
  4. D
    The reduction in bus fares was heavily advertised in neighboring towns, causing the bus system to quickly reach its maximum passenger capacity.
  5. E
    The time it takes a pedestrian to walk across the downtown district has also increased significantly over the same three-month period.

Answer

The transit authority accommodated the doubled bus frequency by deploying a fleet of articulated buses that are much longer than standard buses and frequently block multiple lanes at intersections.
This option introduces a new factor—the disruptive size and turning radius of the new articulated buses—that completely explains why traffic has slowed down. Even though there are fewer passenger cars, the new buses cause massive bottlenecks that increase the average travel time for all vehicles, smoothly reconciling both facts.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the two apparently conflicting facts in the stimulus.
Fact 1: The number of passenger cars entering downtown decreased by 30 percent. Fact 2: The average time to cross the downtown district by vehicle significantly increased.
Resolving a paradox requires precisely understanding the two sides of the discrepancy.
2
Determine what the correct answer must accomplish.
The correct answer must explain how traffic delays could increase despite a massive 30 percent reduction in passenger cars.
A valid resolution must actively bridge the gap between the two conflicting facts without contradicting either one.
3
Evaluate the options to find the one that resolves the discrepancy while actively eliminating options that deepen it.
The correct option shows that the new buses themselves are causing severe bottlenecks, explaining the increased travel time despite fewer cars. Options that remove even more traffic from the road must be eliminated as they deepen the paradox.
This provides a new causal mechanism (bus size and lane blocking) that overrides the expected benefit of having fewer cars.

Key Concept

Resolving a paradox requires finding a new piece of information that allows both seemingly contradictory premises to be true simultaneously, while actively avoiding trap choices that would make the premises even harder to reconcile.
Estimated Time:2m 0s
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Eliminating Paradox-Deepening Traps

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