Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has said that he supports congestion pricing, but has yet to present a plan. Instead, the state task force that he assembled, Fix NYC, released recommendations in January that included the $2 to $5 per-ride surcharge as well as the creation of a Manhattan congestion zone in which passenger cars could be charged a fee of $11.52 per day.

The task force estimated the per-ride fees alone could generate up to $605 million a year at a time when other states and cities have increasingly imposed similar per-ride fees to generate new revenue.

Mr. Schaller said that his hourly fees would raise more, about $670 million. He added that his report was not intended to criticize the Fix NYC plan, but to build upon the work of the task force and help come up with the most effective way to address growing congestion from cars. “I think the city is at a critical decision point,” he said.

Jon Orcutt, a spokesman for TransitCenter, a research and policy foundation, said that he supported Mr. Schaller’s approach of using an hourly fee rather than a per-ride fee to manage congestion “because I think we’re going to need tough measures to keep the streets moving.” He expressed doubt, though, that a $50 hourly fee would win approval from state officials, given that congestion pricing already faced significant hurdles in New York

Mitchell L. Moss, a member of the task force and the director of the Rudin Center for Transportation Policy and Management at New York University, called a $50 fee “the equivalent of a Donald Trump tariff.” He said that it would have unforeseen side effects such as hurting working-class or middle-class people who rely on taxis or Ubers because they may have no other choice — mothers toting baby strollers, older people too frail or sick to take public transportation, and anyone trying to get anywhere in a hurry.

“What he’s charging for one hour in a cab or Uber is going to cost much more than a main course at the Union Square Café, a four-star restaurant,” Mr. Moss said. “People who can afford $50 already have a Mercedes and a driver all day.”

Alex Matthiessen, the director of Move NY, a grass-roots campaign leading the push for congestion pricing, said that Mr. Schaller’s $20 and $50 fees were not only unlikely to get any political support, but could take the focus away from the Fix NYC proposal, including the $2 to $5 surcharges. “If you’re looking for a way to tackle our transit and traffic crises now, the Fix NYC plan is where to start,” he said.