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Information and IdeasMediumSelect finding that weakens a proposed mechanism

Information and Ideas practice question

After the city of Halden extended its bike-share network into the Northside neighborhood, ridership there grew quickly. Transportation planners proposed an explanation: because most of the new docking stations were installed within a block of bus stops, Northside residents were using the bicycles mainly to finish trips that began on the bus, covering the "last mile" between the bus stop and their destination.

Which finding, if true, would most directly weaken the planners' explanation?

  1. A. Northside bike-share members are more likely than members in other neighborhoods to also hold a monthly bus pass.
  2. B. Docking stations located beside Northside bus stops run out of available bicycles faster on weekday mornings than on weekends.
  3. C. The number of bus routes serving Northside has remained the same since the bike-share network was extended.
  4. D. Trip records show that most Northside bike-share rides both begin and end at stations more than a mile from the nearest bus stop.Correct

Answer: D. Trip records show that most Northside bike-share rides both begin and end at stations more than a mile from the nearest bus stop.

The planners' explanation is a claim about how the bikes are used: as a short link from a bus stop to a final destination. Choice D contradicts that mechanism directly, since rides that start and end far from any bus stop cannot be completing bus trips. Choice A points to an overlap between bike and bus users, which is consistent with the explanation rather than damaging to it. Choice B, bikes disappearing from stations next to bus stops during the morning commute, also fits the explanation. Choice C reports that something did not change; it supplies no information about how riders are actually using the bicycles and so neither supports nor weakens the claim.

Why the other answers are wrong

A. Northside bike-share members are more likely than members in other neighborhoods to also hold a monthly bus pass.
An overlap between bike-share members and bus-pass holders fits the planners' story that riders are connecting bus trips to bikes, so it supports rather than weakens the explanation.
B. Docking stations located beside Northside bus stops run out of available bicycles faster on weekday mornings than on weekends.
Bikes emptying from stations beside bus stops during the weekday morning commute is exactly what the planners' last-mile explanation predicts, so it strengthens their case.
C. The number of bus routes serving Northside has remained the same since the bike-share network was extended.
This tells you only that the number of bus routes stayed constant; it says nothing about how riders actually use the bicycles, so it neither supports nor weakens the explanation.

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