New York City Comptroller Bill Thompson announced a new initiative on Sunday to help the Metropolitan Transportation Authority avoid hiking fares for straphangers.

Thompson?s plan involves transferring the financial burden from mass transit users to car owners and imposing a weight-based registration fee on private and commercial vehicles within mass transit regions.

Currently, drivers pay $30 every two years to register their vehicles, along with additional fees based on the vehicle weight. Under Thompson?s new proposal, lighter, more fuel-efficient cars would be taxed an additional $100 a year, whereas heavy vehicles, like trucks and SUVs would be taxed an additional $400 a year. Thompson predicts the revenue from these additional charges would amount to about $1 billion a year.

Thompson plans to submit his proposal to MTA Finance Board Chair Richard Ravitch on Monday. MTA officials plan to meet to consider proposals and budget solutions Dec. 5.