Waterloo Engineering students will haul a school bus through campus on July 9 as the Bus Push — a fundraising tradition nearly 50 years in the making — takes a new route as part of Engineering Day 2026.
The event, organized by the Waterloo Engineering Society (EngSoc), sees students pull a bus from the CPH Courtyard along Ring Road to the North Residences and back. This year's pull raises money for the Food Bank of Waterloo Region.
In 1977, about 60 engineering students pushed and pulled a 48-seater school bus 3.4 miles through Kitchener-Waterloo to raise money for Big Sisters of Kitchener-Waterloo. The total collected along the route came to $36.25. The name Bus Push stuck, even though students quickly discovered that pulling from the front was safer, healthier and more fun than breathing engine fumes at the back.
Waterloo Engineering alum Peter Baltais (BASc '78), who helped organize the inaugural event as an EngSoc executive, remembers the day fondly. "We wanted to give back to the KW community and have some fun," he said. Nearly five decades on, that instinct still resonates: "Nothing beats the feeling of belonging, being part of a community."
After a pause during COVID-19, the Bus Push returned in fall 2023 and again in March 2025, when 20 to 30 participants braved a wintry day to raise $3,778 for Canada's Children's Hospital Foundations. Moving it to Engineering Day — the Faculty's largest student event — aims to give the tradition fresh momentum.
"The Bus Push is a perfect fit as it's all about community spirit, giving back and having fun," said Emmanuel Nera, a second-year mechanical engineering student and EngSoc executive. "It's a little bit crazy … and it's all for a good cause."
Go to Waterloo students refuel a beloved tradition for the full story.