As part of a city-wide effort to mitigate daytime traffic, a certain company surveyed its employees about their commuting behaviors....
GMAT Graphics Interpretation : (GI) Questions
As part of a city-wide effort to mitigate daytime traffic, a certain company surveyed its employees about their commuting behaviors. The survey's 2,000 respondents each indicated whether they have used or have considered using the following five alternative commuting strategies: public transportation, ride sharing, shifted work hours, walking or cycling, working off-site. The graph shows for each of these strategies the percentage of respondents who indicated they had used the strategy, the percentage who indicated that they had not used the strategy but had considered using it, and the percentage who indicated that they had neither considered the strategy nor used it.
Based on the information provided, select from each drop-down menu the option that creates the most accurate statement.
Owning the Dataset
Table 1: Text Analysis
| Text Component | Literal Content | Simple Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | As part of a city-wide effort to mitigate daytime traffic | The survey's goal is to help reduce daytime traffic congestion. |
| Surveyed Group | A certain company surveyed its employees | The participants are all employees at one company. |
| Sample Size | 2,000 respondents | 2,000 employees answered the survey. |
| Alternatives Analyzed | Five alternative commuting strategies: public transportation, ride sharing, shifted work hours, walking or cycling, working off-site | Respondents gave answers about five specific ways of alternative commuting. |
| Question Response Options | Used strategy; Not used but considered; Neither used nor considered | Each person reported if they: use it, merely considered it, or have never even thought of or used it for each strategy. |
| Data Type | Percentages for each option per strategy | The data is presented as percent of total respondents, not as raw numbers. |
Table 2: Chart Analysis
| Chart Component | What's Shown | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| Chart Type | 100% stacked bar chart with five bars, one for each strategy | Each commuting strategy is represented, and all segments per bar total 100%. |
| X-Axis | Public transportation, ride sharing, shifted work hours, walking/cycling, working off-site (ordered left to right) | The left-to-right sequence follows the list of alternative strategies studied. |
| Y-Axis | 0%-100% scale, marked every 10% | Allows easy visual comparison of the proportions for each commuting strategy. |
| Segments in Each Bar | Used (gray, bottom), Not used but considered (light blue, middle), Neither used nor considered (black, top) | Shows the portion of each response group for every strategy. |
| Percentages (per strategy) | Public transportation: 67% used, 13% considered, 20% neither; Ride sharing: 48% used, 30% considered, 22% neither; Shifted work hours: 59% used, 9% considered, 32% neither; Walking/cycling: 76% used, 7% considered, 17% neither; Working off-site: 84% used, 5% considered, 11% neither | Working off-site and walking/cycling have the highest use, ride sharing is most considered but unused, shifted work hours is least considered. |
Key Insights
- Working off-site is the most widely adopted strategy, with 84% of employees indicating they have used it. Only 11% have never considered or used this option.
- Walking or cycling is also popular, with a 76% usage rate among respondents.
- Ride sharing has the largest group (30%) who have considered it but not used it, suggesting interest but likely barriers to adoption.
- Public transportation and ride sharing have the lowest usage and highest 'neither used nor considered' percentages among the strategies.
- Shifted work hours shows both a relatively moderate usage (59%) and the highest percentage (32%) of employees who have never even considered it.
Step-by-Step Solution
Question 1: Number of Employees Who Never Used or Considered Public Transportation
Complete Statement:
The number of respondents who indicated that they had neither used nor considered using public transportation was, to the nearest 100, [BLANK 1]
Breaking Down the Statement
Statement Breakdown 1:
- Key Phrase: respondents who indicated
- Meaning: The people who responded to the survey.
- Relation to Chart: There are 2,000 total respondents, as given in the passage.
- Important Implications: All calculations must use the total of 2,000 respondents.
Statement Breakdown 2:
- Key Phrase: neither used nor considered using public transportation
- Meaning: Respondents who did NOT use and did NOT consider using public transportation.
- Relation to Chart: Represents the black (top) segment of the first bar (public transportation) in the chart.
- Important Implications: We must find the size of this segment for public transportation.
What is needed: The number of people (out of 2,000) who neither used nor considered public transportation.
Solution:
- Condensed Solution Implementation:
Find the percentage shown for this category and multiply by the total number of respondents. - Necessary Data points:
- Total respondents: 2,000
- 'Neither used nor considered' percentage for public transportation: 20%
- Calculations Estimations:
Number = 20% of 2,000 = \(0.20 \times 2,000 = 400\) - Comparison to Answer Choices:
The answer choices provided included 400, matching our calculation exactly.
FINAL ANSWER Blank 1: 400
Question 2: Strategy with Most 'Considered but Not Used' Responses
Complete Statement:
Of the five alternative commuting strategies represented in the survey, [BLANK 2] had the greatest number of respondents indicating that they had considered using that strategy but had not done so.
Breaking Down the Statement
Statement Breakdown 1:
- Key Phrase: considered using that strategy but had not done so
- Meaning: People who thought about trying a certain commuting strategy, but did not actually use it.
- Relation to Chart: This refers to the light blue (middle) segment in each bar of the chart.
Statement Breakdown 2:
- Key Phrase: greatest number of respondents
- Meaning: Which strategy has the highest number (percentage, since total is the same) of people in this category.
- Relation to Chart: Compare the height (percentage) of the light blue segments for all bars.
What is needed: Which strategy has the highest percentage (and therefore highest count) of 'considered but not used' responses.
Solution:
- Condensed Solution Implementation:
Compare the 'not used, but considered' percentages for each of the five strategies and pick the largest. - Necessary Data points:
Public transportation: 13%, Ride sharing: 30%, Shifted work hours: 9%, Walking/cycling: 7%, Working off-site: 5%. - Calculations Estimations:
Ride sharing, at 30%, is the largest. - Comparison to Answer Choices:
The answer choices are the five strategies. 'Ride sharing' has the highest percentage, so it's the answer.
FINAL ANSWER Blank 2: ride sharing
Summary
For Blank 1, multiplying 20% by 2,000 gives 400 employees who neither used nor considered public transportation. For Blank 2, a comparison of 'considered but not used' percentages across all strategies shows ride sharing is the highest at 30%.
Question Independence Analysis
The two blanks are independent. Blank 1 asks for a count specific to public transportation, while Blank 2 asks for a comparative assessment across all strategies. Neither calculation requires the answer from the other.