A compromise congestion pricing bill that passed by an overwhelming majority in the state Legislature yesterday will keep New York in the running for up to $500 million of federal funds that would pay for improvements to the city’s mass transit system and could help stave off another subway and bus fare hike down the line. The bill also buys Mayor Bloomberg until March to convince lawmakers that charging drivers to enter most of Manhattan is the best way to fix the city’s crippling traffic problems.

The compromise bill, hammered out in a series of tense negotiations last week between Governor Spitzer and Mr. Bloomberg, authorizes the creation of a 17-member commission of city and state officials who will review the city’s traffic-tax plan and make recommendations by March.

As city’s embattled traffic-tax proposal was resuscitated in Albany after suffering a near-fatal blow earlier this month, a new poll showed that New York voters oppose paying to drive into Manhattan by a margin of 52% to 41%. If the dollars generated from congestion pricing could prevent subway and bus fare hikes, however, voters said they supported the plan by a margin of 58% to 36%. Manhattan voters supported congestion pricing by a margin of 59% to 37%, even if it did not offset a fare hike, the Quinnipiac University poll released yesterday found. The commission is expected to study alternatives to the city’s proposal to charge drivers $8 to drive in Manhattan south of 86th Street during peak hours. Any alternative proposal, however, must also reduce traffic in Manhattan by 6.5% to qualify for the federal funds.

“I think you only have two choices: tolls on East River bridges or congestion pricing,” a Republican state senator of Brooklyn, Martin Golden, said.

The bulk of commission members are to be appointed by Messrs Bloomberg and Spitzer, as well as the state Senate majority leader, Joseph Bruno — all supporters of congestion pricing. Federal officials are expected to announce the grant winners on August 8.