A high-level panel appointed by the New York City Council and Mayor Bill de Blasio intends to propose a bailout for thousands of taxi drivers trapped in exploitative loans that could cost as much as $500 million, several panel members said this week.

The panel, which has been meeting regularly since last summer, wants a new public-private partnership to essentially absorb much of the debt that the drivers took on in recent years in order to buy medallions, the city-issued permits that let them own cabs. Many of the medallions were sold at artificially inflated prices by industry leaders who brought about one of the biggest speculative loan bubbles since the American financial crisis.

The drivers, nearly all of whom are immigrants, were channeled into reckless loans totaling billions of dollars, leaving many bankrupt and struggling to survive.

The proposal would call for the partnership to buy medallion loans at discounted prices and ease the burden on borrowers by forgiving much of the debt and lowering interest payments, panel members said.