Call the number of people who ride the bus, x.
And the number that ride the train is 3x - 2.
And together, they sum to 54. So we have...
x + (3x - 2) = 54 simplify
4x - 2 = 54 add 2 to both sides
4x = 56 divide by 4
x = 14 this is the number that ride the bus
3(14)- 2 = 42 - 2 = 40 this is the number that ride the train
