Final answer:
To determine the percentage of employees who rode the bus last year, divide the current percentage by the growth factor, 1.457, resulting in roughly 10.36%. The correct answer is an increase in the number of employees riding the bus, option B.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question is asking to find the number of employees who rode the bus to work last year, given the current percentage and the increase from the previous year. If 15.1% of employees ride the bus this year and this represents a 45.7% increase from last year, we can calculate the percentage from the previous year by dividing the current percentage by the growth factor. The growth factor is 1 + the percent increase expressed as a decimal, which means 1 + 0.457. Therefore, we can find last year's percentage by doing the following calculation:
Percentage of employees riding the bus last year = Current percentage / Growth factor
Percentage of employees riding the bus last year = 15.1% / (1 + 0.457)
Percentage of employees riding the bus last year = 15.1% / 1.457
Percentage of employees riding the bus last year ≈ 10.36%
This question is a mathematical calculation of percentages and does not require any additional information to determine the answer. Thus, the correct answer to the question 'How many employees ride the bus last year?' would be 'an increase in the number of employees riding the bus' which corresponds to option B.