Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith says he knows how to save subway and bus riders from drastic fare hikes — add $1 to each city taxi ride and split the projected $190 million revenue equally between the MTA and upstate road and bridge projects.

Smith’s office said he expects to have enough votes, including some from Republicans, to approve a bill that aims to significantly reduce the 23 percent fare hike when it comes up for a vote next week.

His plan — which Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said he was “prepared to take very seriously” — would also add a payroll tax on businesses in counties served by the MTA, with city employers paying 34 cents per $100 of payroll and the rate decreasing in the suburbs.

That would raise $1.49 billion a year, Smith’s spokesman said.

There would also be:

* A $25 fee on motor-vehicle registrations, for a projected $130 million.

* A car-rental tax hike from 6 to 11 percent, which would raise $35 million.

* A 25 percent rise in driver’s-license fees, good for $10.5 million.

Source: NY Post