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Zorluk: OrtaWeakening Arguments

To increase overall bus ridership, the Metro Transit Authority plans to equip all express buses with Transit Signal Priority (TSP) technology. This system communicates with traffic lights to extend green light durations when an express bus approaches an intersection, thereby shortening trip times on express routes. The Authority reasons that by reducing travel times for express bus passengers, deploying TSP on express routes will lead to a net increase in the city's total daily bus ridership.

Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the Metro Transit Authority's argument?

  1. A substantial majority of express bus passengers rely on local feeder buses to reach express stops, and the extended green lights for express buses will cause longer red lights and severe delays for those intersecting local feeder routes.Cevap
  2. B
    Surveys indicate that commuters rank overall transit travel speed as the most decisive factor when deciding whether to commute by bus rather than by personal automobile.
  3. C
    The total procurement and installation cost of the TSP hardware exceeds the expected annual revenue generated from additional express ticket sales.
  4. D
    Express buses consume slightly more fuel per mile when maintaining constant cruising speeds than when stopping and idling at traffic intersections.
  5. E
    A previous initiative by the transit authority to install digital real-time arrival displays at major bus stops did not produce a measurable increase in overall ridership.

Cevap

The argument is most weakened by the finding that express bus passengers depend on local feeder buses whose schedules will be severely delayed by the longer red lights created on intersecting streets.
The argument assumes that reducing travel time on express bus routes will result in a net increase in total citywide bus ridership. The correct option reveals a critical flaw in this plan: because the vast majority of express passengers rely on local feeder buses to reach express stops, and because the TSP system lengthens red light durations on intersecting streets, those local feeder buses will face severe delays. Consequently, total commute times for these passengers will not decrease—and may even increase—negating the intended incentive to use public transit and undermining the conclusion that overall ridership will grow.

Adım Adım Çözüm

1
Deconstruct the argument structure.
Premise: TSP technology shortens travel time for express buses by extending green lights. Goal/Conclusion: Implementing TSP on express routes will increase total daily bus ridership.
Identifying the explicit link between the plan (shorter express bus travel time) and the expected outcome (increased total ridership) exposes the central assumption.
2
Identify the unstated assumption.
The argument assumes that shortening express bus travel times will yield a net benefit without introducing countervailing delays elsewhere in the bus network that reduce overall ridership.
A plan-to-goal argument fails if implementation creates negative side effects that outweigh the direct benefit.
3
Evaluate the options for a weakening factor.
The choice showing that local feeder buses will suffer severe delays demonstrates that express riders will experience equal or greater delays before reaching the express bus, negating the incentive to ride.
Demonstrating that the plan undermines its own objective through feeder route delays directly attacks the feasibility of increasing net ridership.

Anahtar Kavram

Weakening Plan-to-Goal Arguments via Counterproductive Side Effects
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Konular

Weakening Arguments

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