Read the following passage and study the data carefully.
(1) A city transport authority ran a year-long study on how residents of Srinagarpur chose to travel to work. The aim was to see whether a new network of cycle lanes and an expanded bus service, both introduced at the start of the study year, would shift people away from private cars. Commuters were surveyed at the beginning of the year and again at the end, and each was asked to name their main mode of travel.
(2) The authority was encouraged to find that the share of commuters using private cars fell over the year, while cycling in particular more than doubled. Officials cautioned, however, that buses still carried the single largest group of commuters at both the start and the end of the study, and that walking — requiring no new infrastructure at all — remained steady. They concluded that building facilities helps, but that a city's travel habits change gradually rather than overnight.
DATA: Main mode of travel to work in Srinagarpur (% of commuters surveyed)
| Mode | Start of year (%) | End of year (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Bus | 38 | 40 |
| Private car | 32 | 24 |
| Cycling | 8 | 18 |
| Walking | 14 | 14 |
| Two-wheeler | 8 | 4 |
On the basis of the passage and the data, answer the questions that follow.
- What share of commuters used private cars at the start of the year? (read-off, 1 mark)
- Which mode of travel showed the largest increase over the year, and by how many percentage points? (comparison, 2 marks)
- Which figures support the claim that cycling "more than doubled"? Explain. (data-inference, 2 marks)
- The passage says buses "carried the single largest group of commuters at both the start and the end". Is this supported by the data? Justify. (analysis, 2 marks)
- Describe what happened to private-car use over the year, and suggest one reason the passage offers. (trend + inference, 2 marks)
- Choose the correct option: the share of commuters who walked to work — (MCQ, 1 mark)
(i) rose sharply (ii) fell (iii) remained unchanged (iv) more than doubled
You're viewing a preview — the full solution, concept, methods & PYQ mapping are locked.
Start your 14-day free trial to unlock the full solution →A case-based factual passage on how a city's commuters travel, paired with a before/after table of percentage shares. Every answer turns on comparing the "start of year" and "end of year" columns and reading the change correctly. Approach it by noting the frame — all figures are percentages of commuters, so they describe shares, and the columns are a before-and-after — then read off, compute point-differences and check each claim against the numbers.
Read the frame first: Both columns are percentages of commuters surveyed, not head-counts; each row is one travel mode measured twice — at the start and end of the study year. The questions mostly ask you to compare the two columns.
- Private-car share at the start of the year. (1 mark) Model answer: 32% of commuters. How it is derived: Read-off — find the "Private car" row and the "start of year" column.
- Largest increase, and by how many points. (2 marks) Model answer: Cycling showed the largest increase, rising from 8% to 18% — an increase of 10 percentage points, the biggest change of any mode. How it is derived: Compute the change for each row: Bus +2, Private car -8, Cycling +10, Walking 0, Two-wheeler -4. The largest rise is cycling's +10. Use the phrase "percentage points" for a change in a percentage, which is the precise term.
- Figures supporting "cycling more than doubled". (2 marks) Model answer: Cycling went from 8% to 18%. Doubling 8% would give 16%; the actual end figure, 18%, is higher than 16%, so cycling more than doubled — the data supports the claim exactly. How it is derived: A data-inference check: test the claim arithmetically (2 × 8 = 16 < 18), so the word "more than" is justified. Quote both figures and the comparison.
- Did buses carry the largest group at both points? (2 marks) Model answer: Yes. At the start, Bus (38%) is the highest of all modes; at the end, Bus (40%) is again the highest. Since no other mode exceeds it in either column, the data supports the claim. …
Unlock everything free for 14 days
- Full step-by-step solutions
- Concept-first explanations
- Methods, shortcuts & mistakes
- PYQ mapping + timed mock tests
Full access for 14 days. No credit card required.