Mayor Bill de Blasio is proposing to tax the wealthiest New New Yorkers to help generate revenue for the city’s ailing and overcrowded transit system.

City officials said this could raise $700 million a year for subways and other transit plans by increasing the marginal tax rate on couples making more than $1 million or individuals making $500,000 and up. While many frustrated commuters would surely welcome the proposal, the city cannot raise its income tax without the Legislature’s approval, and the Republican leader of the State Senate has denounced the idea.

The millionaires tax is ultimately just one idea among several that state leaders should consider. All of them are politically risky, to be sure. But lawmakers must decide on a plan if they are going to fix the transit system and solve the city’s growing traffic problems.

Toll the bridges, but do it methodically

Bridges and tunnels are major contributors to traffic congestion in the city, as cars and trucks avoid tolled bridges in favor of free alternatives along the East River. One solution: toll all the bridges and tunnels.

A plan by Move NY, which supports greater investment in transit, demonstrates how tolls (shown in red below) could reduce traffic and generate revenue from the people who are causing the congestion.

$1.64 Henry Hudson THE BRONX $3.26 Hudson River MANHATTAN $3.26 Whitestone Throgs Neck Triborough Queensboro $5.76 QUEENS Williamsburg Manhattan Brooklyn Upper Bay $3.00 BROOKLYN Verrazano Narrows $1.16 STATEN ISLAND Cross Bay Gil Hodges Lower Bay 2 MILES Note: Tolls include E-ZPass discount $1.64 Henry Hudson THE BRONX $3.26 Hudson River MANHATTAN Whitestone $3.26 Throgs Neck Triborough Queensboro $5.76 QUEENS Williamsburg Manhattan Brooklyn Upper Bay $3.00 BROOKLYN Verrazano Narrows STATEN ISLAND $1.16 Cross Bay Gil Hodges Lower Bay 2 MILES Note: Tolls include E-ZPass discount $1.64 Henry Hudson THE BRONX $3.26 Hudson River MANHATTAN $3.26 Whitestone Throgs Neck Triborough Queensboro $5.76 QUEENS Williamsburg Manhattan Brooklyn Upper Bay $3.00 BROOKLYN Verrazano Narrows $1.16 Cross Bay Gll Hodges Lower Bay 2 MILES Note: Tolls include E-ZPass discount

They proposed adding tolls to some of the most convenient routes that are now free: the ones leading into and out of Lower Manhattan. These include the Queensboro Bridge, Williamsburg Bridge, Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan Bridge. Crossings like the George Washington Bridge, the R.F.K. Bridge and the Lincoln, Queens Midtown and Holland tunnels are already tolled.

They also proposed reducing tolls along bridges that serve neighborhoods that have few mass-transit options, like the Bronx Whitestone Bridge, the Verrazano Bridge and the Throgs Neck Bridge.

Bridge Current toll Proposed Toll Difference Brooklyn Bridge $0.00 $5.76 +$5.76 Manhattan Bridge $0.00 $5.76 +$5.76 Queensboro Bridge $0.00 $5.76 +$5.76 Williamsburg Bridge $0.00 $5.76 +$5.76 Throgs Neck Bridge $5.76 $3.26 -$2.50 Whitestone Bridge $5.76 $3.26 -$2.50 Triborough Bridge $5.76 $3.26 -$2.50 Verrazano Narrows Bridge $5.50 $3.00 -$2.50 Henry Hudson Bridge $2.64 $1.64 -$1.00 Cross Bay Bridge $2.16 $1.16 -$1.00 Gil Hodges Bridge $2.16 $1.16 -$1.00 Note: Tolls include E-ZPass discount. Verrazano bridge toll reflects amount for Staten Island residents.

Like the millionaires tax, this plan also requires the Legislature’s approval. Versions of the Move NY plan have been introduced in the Assembly and in the Senate, where it is backed by at least one Republican senator and a member of the breakaway Democrats that have handed control of the Senate to the Republicans. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has not publicly backed the plan, but The Times recently reported that he is considering some version of congestion pricing.

Charge drivers to enter the busiest parts of Manhattan

Hudson River New Jersey MANHATTAN 60th St. QUEENS $5.76 BROOKLYN Upper Bay 1 MILE MANHATTAN Hudson River New Jersey 60th St. QUEENS $5.76 BROOKLYN Upper Bay 1 MILE

Manhattan’s worst traffic congestion is found on the lower half of the island — anywhere south of 60th Street in what officials call the Central Business District. Under the Move NY proposal, cars traveling into this area would have to pay a fee.

The argument in favor of the plan is simple: Almost everyone pays to enter central Manhattan — through a MetroCard or bus or train ticket, taxi fare or, for people coming from New Jersey, a bridge or tunnel toll — so why should cars and trucks coming from Upper Manhattan be treated differently? This fee would be the same as the toll on the East River bridges.

A few other big cities like London and Singapore already have such fees in place. London instituted a congestion charge in 2003, which has risen to £11.50 per day ($15) for anyone driving into the city center on weekdays between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m.

STRATFORD LONDON WHITECHAPEL $15 WESTMINSTER ISLE OF DOGS PECKHAM 1 MILE LONDON $15 1 MILE

Instead of toll booths, riders driving southbound past 60th Street could pay using an E-ZPass. For cars and trucks without an E-ZPass, cameras could photograph license plates and send bills in the mail. The M.T.A. recently installed a version of this technology on the R.F.K. Bridge, the Queens Midtown Tunnel and several other crossings. The city could also explore having riders buy passes in advance and fining drivers without passes, as they do in London.

Surcharge on taxis and ride-shares

110th St. Hudson River New Jersey MANHATTAN 96th St. Taxi Surcharge Zone QUEENS BROOKLYN Upper Bay 1 MILE 110th St. New Jersey Hudson River MANHATTAN 96th St. Taxi Surcharge Zone QUEENS Upper Bay BROOKLYN 1 MILE

Another option is to add fees on taxi and ride-share trips below a certain point in Manhattan during the busiest times of the day. Mr. Cuomo’s office is reportedly considering this idea, according to Times reports. Taxis and and ride-shares would be exempt from the Central Business District fee (and the bridge and tunnel tolls) and would bring in revenue from people using congested streets to help pay for better forms of transportation.

The Move NY plan includes these surcharges — an additional $0.60 per mile and $0.20 per minute in the taxi surcharge zone, with lower rates on weekends — and its proponents estimate the group’s version of the fees would raise $270 million a year.

These plans could generate $1.5 billion

New sources of revenue are needed to solve the M.T.A.’s crisis. Ambitious proposals like the one from Move NY have been around for years, but state lawmakers have been reluctant to pass them fearing political blowback from drivers, rich taxpayers and others. Some officials are also ideologically opposed to any taxes or fees, arguing that the cost of living in New York is already too high. But these arguments ignore the fact that congestion and a dysfunctional transit system impose a substantial and growing cost on residents and on the economy.

Move NY says its plan would generate $1.5 billion a year — or twice as much as what Mr. de Blasio hopes to raise from the millionaires tax.