The numbers are staggering.

CKNW news has learned there were several million people riding the Metro Vancouver bus system for free last year.
 
On board Coast Mountain buses is a button drivers are to push if someone gets on and refuses to pay.

Last year drivers pushed that button 2.1 million times.

If you multiply that number with the minimum bus fare of two-dollars-50 cents for one zone that's 5.2-million-dollars that Translink's losing out on.

And that does not include fare jumping on Skytrain.

The Vancouver transit centre reported the highest 'fares not paid' of 1.2-million.

Even worse many bus drivers off the record say they don't even bother to push that button anymore because there are so many freeloaders on board.

Jordan Bateman with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation says he's shocked.

"fare evasion is a serious problem we've all been talking about this for months now but it seems like every few weeks we get a little bit more dipper glimpse into just exactly how deep the problem runs and 2.1 million times the driver pushed the botton on fare evasion it's a shocking number it's a disgusting number no wonder so many of these drivers are demoralized about what's going on with the system."