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BAILOUT VOTE DUE IN ALBANY

The state Senate will vote by early next week on an MTA bailout that calls for a $1 tax on all cab rides and for other driver-related fees, Majority Leader Malcolm Smith said yesterday.

Smith will introduce a bill — aimed at staving off sky-high fare hikes and deep service cuts on subways and buses — late this week, said spokesman Austin Shafran.

On top of the cab fee, the proposal would increase fees for driver’s licenses and learner’s permits by as much as 30 percent, hike vehicle-registration fees by $25 and impose a new tax on car rentals, according to a draft of the bill.

It would also include a 34-cent tax for every $100 of payroll for every business in nine of the MTA’s 12 ridership counties, and 25 cents in Orange, Putnam and Dutchess counties.

Smith says he’s optimistic the new measure will pass.

If it fails, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said his house will pass a plan that includes $2 tolls on East River and Harlem River bridges.

Meanwhile, representatives from five major unions rallied outside City Hall, vowing to use political clout to prevent the MTA’s doomsday plan.

“The commuters, basically working people, cannot afford a 25 percent fare hike in the middle of the greatest recession since the Great Depression,” said Randi Weingarten, president of the teachers union.

brendan.scott@nypost.com