Bus Passenger: "Cutting Off Bus Routes to the Most Distant

Bus passenger: "Cutting off bus routes to the most distant suburbs is short sighted and hurts our citizens. Those routes may not have been the most profitable, but they were vital for residents in those suburbs to get to work and to school. Now, many citizens have no affordable way to commute."
City councilman: "Cutting off the bus routes was the only way to protect our citizens. The unprofitable bus routes were causing the bus fares to increase at exorbitant rates, making it difficult for all citizens to afford the bus. Cutting off the unprofitable routes allows most citizens to still utilize the bus services at a reasonable price. Keeping the unprofitable routes would have meant raising the cost to where residents in the distant suburbs could not afford the bus anyway."
Pointing out that unprofitable bus routes were causing bus fares to increase plays what role in the city councilman's argument?

A) It is the main point of the argument.
B) It is a principle that justifies the councilman's argument.
C) It is evidence in support of the councilman's main point.
D) It is an ad hominem attack against the bus passenger.
E) It responds to a specific question raised by the bus passenger's claim