STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - You must be less than this tall -- 44 inches, to be exact -- to ride an MTA bus or train for free. But Councilwoman Debi Rose is hoping to change that.

Ms. Rose (D-North Shore) has introduced a City Council resolution asking the Metropolitan Transit Agency to use age, rather than height, in determining who qualifies as a "child" and gets a free fare when accompanied by an adult.

"As it is now, they use height, and they figured that the average child under five is about 44 inches tall," Ms. Rose said. "And anyone over that is required to pay an adult fare."

But what about the kindergartner who gets his growth spurt a little early?

"Due to healthy eating and diet, and the fact that some families are just predisposed towards height -- towards tallness -- they are being charged the full fare for children who look like they're older than 5, but in essence are not," Ms. Rose said.

In fact, Ms. Rose knows one youngster who may have just this problem. Doctors recently said her grandson is in the 98th percentile when it comes to growth. That mean's he'll tower over 98 percent of the kids in his age range.

While it may seem like a minor problem, Ms. Rose said some parents may have trouble paying the fare in already tight times.

Since height is a lot easier for a bus driver to verify than age -- and Ms. Rose said parents of children who look taller than a 5-year-old would need to provide some kind of verification of their child's age.

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