Cab Fare Puzzle

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Joseph Bolas
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Cab Fare Puzzle

Post by Joseph Bolas »

Ben wanted to take his mates Richard and Paul out to the best restaurants and bars, Manhattan has to offer, all in one evening. He'd picked out the 5 best places, but now needed to work out which order they should visit them in. Ben knew he wanted to start at the Ace Bar and end up back there at the end of the night, and he also wanted to make sure they spent their money at the restaurants, not wasting it all on cabs. Over the years he'd learnt how much it would cost to get a cab from any location to any other. It didn't take him long to figure out the cheapest route for the evening.

Ace Bar --> Spark's Steak House = $10.15
Ace Bar --> Corner Bistro = $6.95
Ace Bar --> Zum Schneider = $1.25
Ace Bar --> Lombardi's = $3.30
Spark's Steak House --> Corner Bistro = $9.55
Spark's Steak House --> Zum Schneider = $10.00
Spark's Steak House --> Lombardi's = $12.40
Corner Bistro --> Zum Schneider = $8.00
Corner Bistro --> Lombardi's = $6.05
Zum Schneider --> Lombardi's = $4.45

What's the cheapest cab fare Ben, Richard and Paul can pay (and what is the route)?

NB: This should be a simple puzzle so please PM me your answer (so others can solve the puzzle) and I will tell you if you are correct :)
Last edited by Joseph Bolas on Mon Nov 03, 2008 2:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Dinos Sfyris
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Re: Cab Fare Puzzle

Post by Dinos Sfyris »

How come the cab fares are in £s when the puzzle says its in Manhattan?
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Joseph Bolas
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Re: Cab Fare Puzzle

Post by Joseph Bolas »

Dinos Sfyris wrote:How come the cab fares are in £s when the puzzle says its in Manhattan?
A simple typo :oops:. I have changed it now to $ :)

Howard is the only one who has solved this, but if anyone else wants to have a crack at it they're more than welcome :D
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Joseph Bolas
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Re: Cab Fare Puzzle

Post by Joseph Bolas »

It's been almost a week, since I first posted the puzzle, so its time to reveal the answer to this puzzle :D

The route you take is:

Ace Bar --> Lombardi's --> Corner Bistro --> Spark's Steak House --> Zum Schneider --> Ace Bar (or vice versa)

This is the cheapest route, costing you $30.15 :D

Well done to Howard and Dinos for getting this correct :D
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