The stem translation means

All all the following answer choices but ONE weaken the argument. I.E. find a flaw in the reasoning of the passage.

ONE only answer choice DOES NOT weaken the argument because it is neutral, strengthens the argument, or is an assumption. Typically strengthen the argument.

The EXCEPT question goes in the opposite direction of the other four. And in the end is the right choice

use the following to know the different kind of stems in the CR argument



Let me know iff you need further help

Wait, I don't understand why A is not the answer, because if a subway ticket is still a single use ticket or token then it doesn't do anything to the revenue. How is A not a good choice?

Difficulty Level: Hard
Correct Answer: (B)

Structural Analysis & Logic Breakdown

1. Analyzing the Argument & Conclusion

Premise: The subway system needs to increase total revenues by 50 % starting next quarter to avoid a financial crisis.
Proposal: The transit authority chairperson proposes raising the flat fare per ride by 50\% at the start of the coming quarter.
Conclusion: A 50 % fare increase will be sufficient to generate the required 50\% increase in revenue and avert the crisis.

Mathematical / Logical Flaw in the Conclusion: Revenue = Fare per ride × Number of rides. A 50 % increase in fare will only yield a 50\% increase in total revenue if ridership remains constant (or increases) and if riders actually pay the new rate immediately upon implementation.

2. Identifying the Task
The question asks for the option that DOES NOT call the chairperson's conclusion into question (a "Weaken EXCEPT" question).
Four options will weaken the conclusion by showing why revenue won't hit the 50 % target. The correct answer will either be neutral or strengthen the conclusion (or fail to weaken it).


Option Analysis

(A) Subway fares are paid with single-ride tokens that are purchased in advance and do not expire.

Weakens: If non-expiring tokens can be bought in advance, riders will hoard tokens at the current lower rate before the price hike takes effect. Consequently, next quarter's actual revenue won't see the full 50 % surge because riders will be using cheap pre-purchased tokens.


(B) On the most heavily traveled routes in New City's downtown, express bus fares range from 25 to 40 percent greater than current subway fares.

Correct Answer (EXCEPT): If express buses currently cost 25\% to 40\% more than the subway, raising the subway fare by 50\% makes the subway more expensive (or equally priced) compared to express buses on key routes. However, without knowing how riders will react or if bus service is a viable alternative, this price comparison on its own does not provide a direct mechanism that breaks the revenue projection in a clear, self-contained way like the other choices do. More importantly, relative to the strong, direct destroyers in A, C, D, and E, (B) fails to undermine the chairperson's math.

(C) Under New City's tax code, subway fare increases of more than 25 percent trigger reductions in the amount of tax money allocated to the subway system.
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Weakens: Even if fare revenue increases, the overall budget deficit will not be resolved if the fare hike triggers an offsetting loss in tax allocations/funding.

(D) New City's economy is adding many more jobs in suburban areas, which are inaccessible by subway, than in the urban areas that the subway system serves.

Weakens: A shift of job growth to non-subway-accessible areas suggests that ridership demand in urban areas may stagnate or drop, reducing total rides and undercutting the 50\% revenue goal.

(E) Mobile phones, upon which a significant percentage of New City's workers have come to depend for essential communication while commuting, will be banned on the subway from the coming quarter onward.

Weakens: A mobile phone ban provides a strong incentive for commuters to abandon the subway for alternative transportation, leading to a drop in overall ridership and preventing the $50 \%$ revenue growth target.

Fixed OA